For Science!
by Pookie2
Summary: When the Courier went to see a Midnight Science Fiction Feature, she didn't realize she'd be the one starring in it! Part 10 of the "All the Things You Are" storyline. Rated for language, violence, sexual content.
1. Observation

"…The takeover won't happen until after the Legion makes their move for Hoover Dam. Once they're dealt with, Ambassador Crocker and myself are going to begin negotiations," Layla said to the gathered group, which consisted of the leaders of New Vegas' three families. Veronica was at her side; Layla had asked her to sit in to take notes. And punch anyone if things got ugly. She hadn't been surprised to see so many unhappy faces, but it didn't make her feel any better about it.

"What kind of changes can we expect?" Swank asked. He had been the least surprised by the turn of events, probably because Layla had already spoken with him directly.

She sat back at the fine, dark wood table. The meeting was being held in the Ultra Luxe; Marjorie had been delighted at Layla's suggestion of hosting the meeting there.

Thinking back to Swank's question, she had gone over the answer several times in her head. She'd also spoken with Crocker to get a better idea of what they'd be dealing with.

"Honestly, not much. I'm going to push for things to stay the way they are now, only instead of giving a cut of your profits to House, you'll be giving them to the NCR as 'taxes.'"

"Who's going to own the casinos?" Cachino asked, looking unhappy. Layla shifted in her seat, worried that this might get ugly.

"Well, right now I own them." She bit her lip for a moment. "Eventually I'm going to turn over ownership to the respective families, with the condition you all continue your gaming enterprises."

"Why would you do that?" Cachino spoke up again. Layla had known he was going to be the biggest pain in the ass to deal with in this situation.

"The NCR isn't going to be happy with me turning over ownership as it is. If they have a guarantee to run your casinos and make them money, they won't make a fuss over who owns the buildings."

"And the Lucky 38?" Cachino added.

"I'm keeping the 38," Layla said firmly. That wasn't negotiable to the families or the NCR. House had a lot of dangerous things working in the casino, including the ability to control an army of securitrons.

"Anyway, current power and water needs will be maintained, and we'll be getting the added bonus of NCR engineers should any technical problems arise. In reality, the only noticeable difference is that we'll have to follow NCR laws…" She glanced Cachino's way. "That's going to effect the Omerta's more than anyone."

"You fucking right it will," he snapped. "What the hell are we supposed to do?"

"Don't act like this is a surprise you-" Layla was cut off by a loud screeching noise coming from her Pip-Boy. Looking down, she found it had picked up a new radio signal. She snapped the radio off, and the noise stopped.

"Sorry," she said, noticing most of the room was still wincing. "Um… anyway." She looked back to Cachino. "You're just going to have to learn to make due without selling drugs. You get most of your money from prostitution, anyway."

"Oh like it's that fucking easy!"

"It's either that, or don't operate at all…" Layla said firmly. She noted the man's growing ire and sighed. "Listen, you're going to have to learn to compromise."

He didn't answer, instead saying something to one of the goons standing behind him. Layla felt the hair on the back of her neck rise. That idiot wasn't really about try something here-

"If that's all, we'll be leaving," the Omerta said. "And I'd like to set up a private meeting to discuss this."

Layla kept her face neutral. Marjorie and Swank were obviously on her side, making Cachino the odd man out. He wanted to get her alone so he could intimidate her into getting what he wanted.

"Sure," Layla answered. "I wanted to meet with each of you alone to go over specific details anyway." She looked at Cachino. "We'll set something up for the end of the week."

"That works," he said.

Soon, she'd set up meetings with the other two family heads, and the group dispersed. The Courier noticed an ugly smile had wormed its way onto Cachino's face. Let him smile. Layla planned to take Boone as usual when dealing with the jackass; though maybe this time she'd bring Raul as well. Let Cachino try to scare her with her pissed-off sniper on one side and her ghost vaquero on the other.

"Well that was interesting," Veronica said, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Honestly, it wasn't as bad as I thought," Layla replied. "Cachino's going to be a pain in the ass."

"Yup," the scribe said, then tugged on her arm. "What happened to your Pip-Boy?"

"Oh, I think I got a new radio station." Pulling up the radio settings, she played the broadcast again. After a little more squelching, a message announced the Mojave Drive-In hosting a 'Midnight Science Fiction Feature.' Afterward it started playing a jaunty jazz instrumental.

Layla grinned. "Oooooh! That sounds awesome! Are you gonna go with me?" She looked at Veronica, then frowned at the disbelieving look on the other girl's face.

"Come on, Layla. Last time you got an invitation like that from a new radio station, you got knocked out and kidnapped, remember?"

"That was different," the Courier insisted. "I've been to the Mojave Drive-In. It's just a field and a screen with a few busted cars. There's no way to put a trap that isn't just people rushing the area. If it's legit, midnight movies! If it's not, we'll take care of it."

"I still smell a trap."

"Oh come on, please?" Before either girl could continue, Layla caught sight of Marjorie coming their way.

"Thank you for calling this meeting," she began. "I think that with your help, the White Glove Society will be able to continue bringing the kind of class and sophistication otherwise missing in the wasteland."

"Oh, um, not a problem," Layla said, starting to blush. "I just want everyone to get a fair shake."

"Please, let me do something to thank you," Marjorie said, motioning to one of the masked White Gloves in the hallway. The man moved quickly to her side and listened as the woman whispered something to him. He left, and the older woman looked back at the girls with a warm smile.

"Our penthouse suite is yours for the evening." She held out a key.

"Thank you," Layla said, taking the key with a grin.

"You are most welcome, my dear. Why don't you go get settled in for the night? Maybe invite your friends?"

Thanking the woman again, the girls headed for the hotel.

"I thought they already comped you the suite here," Veronica said as they made their way to the back elevator.

"I thought they did too, but I guess there's more than one. To be honest, I was a little disappointed with the one they'd given me. Maybe this one will be better." They took the elevator up to the room.

Stepping out, both girls' eyes widened.

"Hoooooooly shit!" Veronica cried.

*.*.*

"Have you guys noticed the vending machines don't work right since House kicked the bucket?" Cass said as she walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah, it never gives you the right thing anymore, and its usually warm," Arcade responded. He was sitting at the table, thumbing half-heartedly through an old copy of Guns 'n' Bullets. It had been out of curiosity, mainly. He had a hard time understanding how anyone could put their faith in combustion firearms.

Cass stood in the doorway, watching Boone as he sat eating his fire ant fricassee.

"How can you eat that?" She asked, sounding disgusted.

"'Sgood," he said, seeming unconcerned with her distaste. The sniper was the only one of them who liked the dish. Layla had modified the recipe to leave out the cram and add a cazador egg, but even she couldn't stand the finished product.

"I'm surprised Layla makes it. She gags when she does…" Arcade grumbled. "It smells like a dead molerat."

"She makes it just for Boone," Cass said as she started rooting through the fridge. Her head suddenly popped up from the fridge door. "Gotta make her wuvy duvy his favorite," she said, making kissy faces. "You two make me sick, you know that?"

Boone had put his fork down and was glaring at the woman. She smirked as she went back to the fridge.

"Save your death stares. They don't work on me, cowboy. You'd be better off-"

She was cut off as a securitron rolled into the kitchen. Arcade found himself expecting it to be Victor for a moment, but the soldier face that adorned most of the robots flicked in their direction.

"Um… yes?" the doctor said.

Layla had managed to program the robots to deliver messages to her and the rest of the group. So far, only the NCR and the families had made use of their new function.

"Message for: 'anyone in the presidential suite.'" it said.

"I guess that's us then," said Arcade. The securitron rolled back a bit and started reciting:

"'Please meet us at the Ultra Luxe immediately for a very important business meeting. Attendance is mandatory.'"

"I guess the family meeting is over," Cass said, standing. "I wonder how much of a cluster fuck it was."

"Mild to moderate, I'm guessing," Arcade said as he stood to leave.

*.*.*

Boone rode the Ultra Luxe elevator along with Arcade and Cass. The particular suite they were going to was just about the only place in the casino he hadn't already been to. The door opened, and they stepped out. Looking into the room, he couldn't help but gape at what he saw.

The main area of the suite was gigantic; there was a bar on the far end, a separate kitchen and dinning room and an upper level with more bedrooms and another bar. In the center of the lower floor, Veronica was lounging in what appeared to be a heated swimming pool. Layla was no where to be seen.

"Hey!" the scribe greeted them as she saw them come in. "I'm in a pool! This place is amazing!"

"That 'meeting' sounded a little more urgent than 'pool party,'" Arcade said sourly.

"Oh… well, it was Layla's idea. She didn't think you'd all show up if the message said 'we're having fun.'" The scribe shrugged. "Well, welcome to the pool party!"

"Hey! Is that them?" came Layla's voice from the upper level.

"Yeah!" Veronica called back. "Cass, Arcade and Boone!"

"Sweet! Get up here guys! There's Cham-fucking-pagne!"

"Is she drunk?" Arcade asked the scribe, who laughed.

"She's had two glasses, so yeah."

The doctor frowned and started to say something, but Cass slapped him on the back.

"Come on, both of you get the rods out of your asses and let's party!"

"We already ordered dinner," Veronica said with a grin. "You have to try the beds, they're amazing!"

*.*.*

"So," Veronica started, "Are you ever going to tell us why it is you won't join the White Gloves?"

Layla looked down at the Deathclaw egg omelet she was cutting into. At first there was a mischievous grin on her face, but it shifted to a thoughtful expression.

"I'm not going to join any group now," she said. "The way things are going, I need to keep as neutral as possible."

"Well, that makes sense," Arcade said, "but that's not the real reason, is it?"

"There are a few other things, nothing to worry about now, though Layla said, sneaking a look in Boone's direction. He looked up from his steak with a raised eyebrow.

"Come on, tell tell tell," Veronica pressed.

"There might have been a slight cannibalism problem at one point," the Courier answered. "Very slight."

"They used to be cannibals," Boone said flatly. "Back when they were a tribe. House made them promise to stop."

"And a few of them weren't happy about it," Layla continued, grinning at the shocked looks the others were making.

"You all can thank me right now. I heard if we hadn't stopped the people-eating thing they were going to start mixing in with the non-people food."

Arcade had turned a particularly interesting shade of green as Layla bit into her dinner with a contented smile. Noting his still sickly look, she continued.

"Really though, it's over with. We chased off the guy who was doing it."

"'Chased off?' You mean he is still running around somewhere?" the doctor gaped.

"Well, yeah," Layla answered. "Look, I wouldn't worry about it. Just don't go jumping in any big pots of water. Especially if a fancily-dressed man asks you to."

"I'm not the one I'm worried about," he said, and shook his head. "Only you could have an entire nation and a pack of cannibals after you, bent on revenge."

"Meh," she said, stretching. "I don't like to sweat the small stuff."

"How did you find out they were cannibals?" Veronica asked. "Did they… offer you some?"

"Oh God no!" Layla cried. "It just kind of … came up. We were looking for Heck Gunderson's kid and Marjorie thought we were asking about this other girl who'd been kidnapped. Then she got off on a tangent. A people eating one."

Boone let out an irritated grunt, causing Veronica to give him an incredulous look. "What? You're not happy about stopping cannibals?"

"Oh, he's just mad because of how I got Mortimer talking about the Gunderson kid," Layla said, giving the sniper a sheepish grin.

"Well?" Arcade prompted. Layla bit her lip in a failed attempt to stop laughing. Peeking at Boone again, she only laughed harder at his still irritated expression. Calming down enough to speak, she explained.

"Grabbing Gunderson had been a mistake. If his father found out about what was going on, he'd have the place demolished. So, Mortimer told me they needed a replacement." She dissolved into giggles again.

"And?" Veronica was starting to laugh from the face Boone was making.

"And I told him they could eat Boone."

"What! What did Mortimer say?" Veronica said, laughing fully now. Layla looked like she was about to cry as she answered.

"He- he said Boone looked like he was in good shape and healthy, b-but a little gamey!"

Arcade snorted, and all three girls started laughing hysterically.

Wiping tears from her eyes, Layla noted Boone's still annoyed look and gave him a playful shove.

"Aw come on. You're acting like I had them tie to you a butcher block and rubbed marinade on you."

His annoyed look let up as he went back to his steak.

"Oh! Speaking of leading friends to the slaughter," Layla said, flicking the dial on her Pip-Boy. "Who wants to check out this movie thing at the Mojave Drive-In?" she asked, playing the station. After the current song came to an end, the message played again. Once it was over, she snapped off the radio and looked up to find a group of wary looks pointed her way.

"Absolutely not," Arcade said.

"It's a trap," Boone agreed.

"Come on! It is not," Layla said, exasperated. "Even if it were, that's an even better reason for someone to go with me."

"So you think it's a trap too?" Cass asked.

"No, I think it's a kick-ass movie. But I won't discount the possibility. Come on, please?" The looks she'd been getting hadn't changed, and she decided to go with the easiest mark. Looking to Boone, she stuck her lower lip out and batted her eyelashes. He looked like he was about to cave in, but then he made his poker face.

"I don't think it's a good idea…"

Layla's shoulders slumped. She sadly picked at the remains of her omelet until Cass groaned loudly.

"Quit acting like a damn three-year-old," the caravaneer barked, then grinned. "Now what was that about champagne?"

A smile worked its way onto Layla's face despite herself. She stood from the table. "I'll go get it."

"Back in the pool!" Veronica cried.

*.*.*

Layla pulled at the strap of her bra, trying to adjust it. Stupid stupid stupid; they forgot to tell Cass and the other to bring the bathing suits. At first, that had seemed like a buzz kill, until Veronica suggested they all did like she had and just go in their underwear.

Now they were all sitting in the shallow water, down to their skivvies. Layla had hesitated, mainly because she was wearing her actual bra; they weren't exactly common in the wasteland. But once Cass pointed out either she'd go in the water with her bra on, or she'd have to go in topless, she relented.

Not long after, the group was into champagne bottle number three. Layla had determined she was already a little drunk again, a hiccup punctuating the thought. Looking at her friends, they seemed to be having a good time in the water in their various states of undress. Boone was still wearing his beret and sunglasses, but then again, she and Veronica were wearing sunglasses too. It just seemed proper in an indoor pool.

"We're missing blow and hookers," she said out loud. Everyone looked her way, and she continued, "Then, once we've accidentally killed one of the hookers and Veronica overdoses on chems, we can call the night a success."

"You've been in this town too long," Cass said, shaking her head.

"I have. You know I haven't been shot in months?" Layla said with a giggle. "Seems like I used to get shot all the time. Not anymore."

"Poor thing," Arcade said flatly. "It does seem like after the first time you get shot, you stop appreciating it."

Layla giggled. "That's true. Hey! Let's play a game we used to do at the Mojave Express."

"Deliver the mail?" Veronica asked.

"No, handle the package!" Cass crowed.

"No no no, 'When was the first time you got shot?'"

"You couriers are nuts," Cass said, taking another drink from her bottle. Layla gave her a mock-pout.

"Come on, it's usually pretty funny." Looking to her side, she poked Boone. "You go first."

He looked like he was going to refuse, but she kept poking him until he swatted her hand away and answered.

"When I was fourteen, my parents had left home for a couple days. A group of raiders tried to take over the ranch. They got the jump on me and took my gun, but not my knife."

"And they shot you?" Layla said, sounding horrified. The sniper shrugged.

"Nowhere important," he said, pointing to an old, faded scar on his shoulder before continuing. "The ones I didn't kill ran. They didn't come back."

"Why would anyone want to come back to the ranch where the murderous child lives?" Arcade said, sounding amazed.

"Fuck, mine isn't nearly so dignified," Cass laughed.

"What is it?" Veronica asked, causing the caravaneer to shrug.

"Some guy's angry wife shot me in the ass."

"You hoebag!" Veronica laughed.

"Well I didn't _know_ he was married… probably wouldn't have cared though. I'm just happy his wife was a lousy shot."

"Your turn," Cass said to Layla. The Courier bit her lip, feeling a blush creep up on her.

"Well?" the other woman prompted, and Layla sighed.

"I got a .22 for my fourteenth birthday…"

"Yes?" Arcade said. "Don't tell me you shot one of your brothers and they retaliated."

"No! No… I shot myself in the foot at my party," she said, raising her left foot out of the water. It sported a small scar.

Cass started a loud, whooping laugh, which Veronica joined. Once they quieted down, the Courier continued.

"They took the gun away and wouldn't let me have it back for a couple years."

"You know, that really explains a lot about you," Arcade said.

"So let me get this straight," Cass said as her laughing died down. "When Boone was fourteen, he fended off groups of marauding bandits with only a knife. When _you_ were fourteen, you shot yourself in the foot and they took your gun away? I guess some things never change."

"Well, what about you?" Layla quickly turned to Arcade, pretty sure she was red from head to toe now. Arcade looked mildly uncomfortable.

"Well, uh…" He mumbled something unintelligible.

"Speak up," Layla said, and the doctor turned a similar shade of red.

"Some guy's angry wife shot me in the ass."

"Good lord!" Layla cried. "Not you too!"

"Well I didn't know he was married!" Arcade cried. "I should have figured, it was all too good to be true." He looked mortified, then turned to Veronica.

"Your turn," he said to her, quickly. She'd only just caught her breath from laughing when she replied.

"Hm? Oh, I've never been shot," she said, pouring herself another glass of champagne.

"Wha? Yes you have," Cass said incredulously, trying to think. "Didn't you get shot in Freeside once? The guy who was trying to steal your Nuka-Cola but you wouldn't give it up?"

"Nope, that was Layla," she answered, then seemed to noticed the unbelieving looks she got. "What? It's true, I've never been shot."

"Bullshit," Layla said. "There's no way you wade into every fight face-first and have never been hit."

"Have you ever treated a gunshot wound on me?" she asked, looking at both Layla and Arcade.

"Well, no," said Arcade. Layla shook her head as well. "But we haven't even known you for a whole year; you had to have been shot at some point before."

"Nope, not even once."

"That's… That's crazy," Layla said. Veronica shrugged and finished her drink. She picked up the bottle, noticing it was empty.

"We're gonna need another bottle."

*.*.*

Cass peeled her face off the hard surface it had landed on when she passed out. It took her a moment to realize she was lying on the bar in the dining room. Grumbling, she allowed herself to slide off the counter onto the floor. Crawling to her feet, Cass grumbled as the bleary world greeted her. Rubbing her eyes, she looked down to find herself still in her underwear, which she means she probably hadn't fucked anyone last night.

Admitting to herself that was probably a good thing, she started wandering around, looking for her companions. It didn't take long to find most of them; Veronica and Layla were both passed out on the couches of the sitting area. Boone hadn't made it to the last couch, apparently; he was sprawled out face-down on the floor.

Cass sighed; she'd thought he'd do the only sensible thing while drunk and in a heated pool: sloppily make out with the girl he had the hots for. He hadn't, and she shook her head at the man, who was clad in nothing but soggy, clingy boxers. Cass consoled herself by taking a moment to enjoy the view.

She suddenly realized she hadn't seen Arcade anywhere on the first floor. Moving up the stairs she peeked around the master bed to find it empty. She finally found him in the bathroom, in the bathtub, completely nude.

If Cass had any sense of decency, she'd cover him up. She didn't, instead looking him over as well. The doctor apparently was hiding a fairly ripped body under his lab coat and frumpy clothes. She shook her head. Why were all the hot men in her life gay or in a pussy-footing, almost-relationship?

Hearing voices downstairs, she rejoined the others to find Layla stumbling off the couch.

"Cass," she groaned, "the world's spinning."

"No it isn't, you just drank a bottle and a half of champagne," she assured the younger woman.

"Oh." The girl tripped over Boone and landed on her back. Cass walked over and looked down to find her grinning.

"Totally worth it."

*.*.*

Layla strode up to the metal shack Raul called home much later in the day. It was small and depressing, as usual, but the ghoul seemed to enjoy it. The Courier was pretty sure he only kept coming back to it because all his random junk was stored there. She knocked on the tin door.

"Raul? You home?"

"Hey Boss, come in," came from inside a moment later. Opening the door, she stepped in. The shack was as dim and messy as always. Layla found Raul at a table, sorting through a few electronic pieces. She ambled up to him, running her plan through her head one last time.

"What's up, boss? Or are you just here to pester your elders?"

"Har har," Layla said. "I was just in the area. So, whatcha doin' tonight?" she asked, smiling sweetly at him. The old ghoul gave her a suspicious look.

"Why?"

Layla forgot her plan and just barreled in, head-first.

"I got a message on my Pip-Boy about the Mojave Drive-In playing movies at midnight. Wanna go with me?"

Raul shook his head. "I don't know, boss. Sounds like a cage full of mystery to me."

"Oh come on, please?" She gave him her best pout, full eyelash-batting.

"Count me out."

The Courier let out a loud sigh.

*.*.*

"Well, see you guys later," Layla called, checking her Pip-Boy. It was eight o'clock. By the time she got to the drive-in, it would be just before midnight.

"Where are you going?" Arcade asked, poking his head out of the kitchen door.

"To the drive-in, like I've been saying all day," Layla answered, sighing. The elevator door opened, and she stepped in, ED-E trailing after her. "See you in the morning!"

By the time she'd gotten to the outer gates of the Strip, all of her companions had caught up to her.

"I thought no one wanted to go," she said to the gathered group.

"If we don't go, you're gonna end up getting kidnapped and making us feel bad," Veronica said.

"Uh huh," she said, poorly hiding a smile. "Well, let's get a move on then."

"I think we've been manipulated," Arcade said as they headed out of the city.

*.*.*

"What the hell is that?" Cass asked as they reached the Drive-In. There was a pile of smashed machinery that looked like it had crashed into the ground.

"Neat!" Layla said, moving to get a closer look. "What is it… exactly?"

"I'm not sure…" Arcade said, examining the machine. Raul and Veronica had stepped up to take a look as well.

"I don't know this technology," Veronica said. "We'd better not get too close… It might be dangerous."

"It just looks like a projector," Layla said. Almost on cue, the machine sputtered, then projected an image onto the screen. She jumped about a foot, but looked up at the screen with a grin.

"Look! It's just a movie!" she cried. The group all looked at each other, and Veronica shrugged, picking around the place for a good seat. Layla smiled, then squinted at the screen.

"Does it look out-of-focus to you?" she asked.

"Kinda," Veronica answered.

"Yeah, maybe there's a way to adjust it on here." The Courier moved to the satellite and reached out to touch a dial. As she did the machine lit up brightly. Before anyone could react, there was a blinding flash, then nothing.

Moving to see what happened, Cass found the spot where Layla had been standing was empty. There was no sign of her.

"Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me!"

* * *

><p>Well, Red Amnesia, it's Wednesday, you know what that means :p.<p>

See you folks on Saturday, and I officially take back what I said: I wish Lonesome Road was out. *sigh*


	2. Hypothesis

So, I guess I've never mentioned this before, but: This whole series is a spoiler for the game. It will cover the game and most of the things in it. If you haven't played it, reading my series will spoil the game and all its DLCs for you.

* * *

><p>Layla let out a groan as she opened her eyes. For a moment, she just lay where she was, trying to sort out what was going on. The first thing she noticed was that she seemed to be on a bench. Looking up slightly, she found she was on what appeared to be the balcony of a tower.<p>

Then she noticed that she was only wearing a thin patient gown. That one was a little more troubling. Pulling it away, she looked down at herself and found a scar on her chest.

That was downright disturbing. Leaping from the bench, she carefully looked herself over. She didn't see any other marks, but felt thin scars on her back. Starting to panic, Layla moved her hand up to run it through her hair only to find none.

The Courier shrieked, then with both hands feeling her scalp, she found incision spots. There were more than one; some near the base of her skull, a very disturbing one around the crown of her head.

Layla sank back down on the bench, noticing as she did that her body felt heavier. She tried to calm herself down; whatever happened wouldn't be aided by her hyperventilating. Once her breathing had calmed, she tried to figure out what had happened. Had she been hurt in an attack or accident? She couldn't remember. Her head was fuzzy, and when she tried to reason what had happened, it felt like there was a delay in her thoughts.

More than a little worried about that, she tried to think of simple facts; it was 2282, she'd just turned 25, there was a 2,000,000 cap bounty on her head. She could come up with these facts, thought it took a little extra effort. She must still be recovering from being unconscious.

Feeling a little better with that thought, she got back up. Maybe she'd been injured, and the scars were just treatment she'd needed. Looking around, she wondered if any of her friends were here… wherever here was. The bench she'd woken up on wasn't exactly the kind of spot one would perform surgery.

"Hello?" she called. "Boone? Arcade?… Anyone here?" Silence greeted her, so she started to explore her immediate area. The balcony was surrounded by what she'd thought were windows, but moving closer, she realized it was some kind of force field. She hadn't seen tech like that since she'd been at the Sierra Madre. Looking beyond the windows, it was abundantly clear she wasn't at the 'haunted' casino.

She was at the center of a huge compound surrounded by mountains. There were multiple buildings, some topped with satellite arrays, some with smoke stacks. To the northwest was a huge dome, lit by eerie red flood lights. Squinting, Layla thought she could see something moving on the ground far below her, but couldn't make out what it was.

The view, while spectacular, wasn't answering any questions for her, and she turned back to the observation area she was in. Walking along the circular area, she found a Sunset Sarsaparilla machine. Hitting the lighted button, Layla was relieved to hear a bottle thunk to the bottom of the dispenser. Further delighted to find it ice cold, she drank the whole bottle down, then wondered where she was going to store the cap. The surgical gown didn't have pockets…it didn't even completely cover her backside.

Shrugging as she set the cap on top of the vending machine, Layla felt a little better, even if leaving the cap irked her. As long as she didn't think about her current baldness. Of course that made her think of it immediately, and it she felt terrible again. Wherever she was, she sort of hoped that only Arcade was with her. Her acting doctor was the only one of her friends who wouldn't tease her incessantly about her lack of hair. Boone wouldn't either; he'd probably try to tell her she looked all right without it… She just really didn't want him to see that their haircuts currently matched.

As the thought threatened to make her laugh, she bumped into a metal box on the ground. Looking at it, she found 'BIG MT' stenciled on the lid.

"Big 'M' 'T'" she said out loud, her fuzzy mind trying to work out the nagging feeling in her head that something was very wrong. "Big…" She gasped loudly, "Big Empty!" Her hand immediately went back to her head as the memory of Christine came to mind. Bald, covered in scars, unable to read. Pulling her shaking arm up to her face, she dialed her Pip-Boy to something, anything.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she found she was able to read the display. She did a few math equations in her head, just to be sure. And while it took a little longer than she'd like, she was able to solve them. The relief faded quickly; something had clearly been done to her, and she got the feeling it was something she wasn't going to like.

The small observation area held no other clues, so she moved to the only door on the balcony. Opening it, she squared her shoulders and stepped through.

The door led to what looked like a living space. There was a bedroom, a main room with a few map displays and a couple side rooms with various scientific equipment. There was even a jukebox and a few more vending machines.

Spying lockers in the bedroom, Layla searched each one. She'd been hoping for some clothes, maybe a hat or a head wrap. No such luck. She sighed, just about to leave the room when something caught her eye. It was what looked like a tiny securitron. Moving closer, she stooped down to examine it. It was hardly more than a foot tall. It's monitor was blank, and it seemed to be offline.

"Well… that's bizarre," Layla said to herself. Shaking her head, she stood back up and left for the main room. Despite the almost homey feel to the suite, it clearly hadn't been used in a while. There wasn't any dust on the surfaces, but the air felt too still.

She found a door marked 'Think Tank.' Having found no answers in the quiet suite, she opened the door. This hallway was all metal, but here light shone through the slotted floors. The whole place looked like a set from a sci-fi movie. She half expected to find a bunch of aliens or a mad scientist bent on world domination.

An odd feeling washed over the Courier as she moved down the hallway to a set of stairs. The fear that had been gnawing on her subsided a bit, and she felt peaceful. There was a tiny part of her trying to point out this wasn't right, but try as she might, she couldn't figure out why.

Coming to the top of the stairs, she found herself in a huge room. It was all metal, with computer banks and monitor displays lining the walls. Facing her were five… things. They were floating machines of some kind, each with three monitors, two displaying eyes and one showing a mouth. Each one had a brain floating in a different color of fluid. They were lined up in a row facing her.

It took Layla a moment to work up the nerve to move closer. The floating brain jars were all clearly watching her. As she got closer, a voice came from the center tank as its monitors turned to the side.

"I thought I heard the pacification field kick in. All right, nobody move. I'll handle this." The eye monitors turned in her direction, and the voice continued.

"BE WARNED, INTRUDER, YOU ARE BEFORE THE MIGHT THINK TANK OF BIG MOUNTAIN, THE COLLECTIVE MINDS OF… WE…"

Layla had to cover her ears, the voice was loud enough to hurt. She found herself shaking, and tried to calm down. Panicking wouldn't help her, she had to calm down and get some answers. Before she could think of a question to demand of the floating brain jars, the monitors of the tank that had spoken turned toward the others.

"WHICH ONE OF YOU SELF-PROFESSED GENIUSES HAVE BEEN MESSING WITH MY VOLUME KNOB…WAS IT YOU, 8?"

"(*$))==++," a burst of static came from one of the other tanks. This one's brain was in yellow fluid, though it didn't move. The main one 'spoke' again.

"OH, DOCTOR O, WAS IT? HE COULDN'T COULD SPARK TWO NEURONS IF THEY WERE IN A LATTICE OF BIO GEL."

"What? It wasn't me! Breaking news, I'm the robotics engineer; 8's specialty is sound waves." This came from the clear fluid tank and sounded a little offended. Layla vaguely noticed she'd stopped shaking as that particular tank kept whining.

"You always do this! You always embarrass me in front of guests! And it's not 'O' it's-"

"ENOUGH!," the loud, blue tank in the center interrupted. "IF EITHER OF YOU DO IT AGAIN… IT'LL BE THE LAST TIME! NOW!…. NOW… GREAT, NOW I'VE FORGOTTEN WHAT I WAS SAYING!"

"Um… I think you were trying to threaten me," Layla spoke up. "And I was hoping someone could explain what's going on here." There was a pause, then the loud, blue one spoke again.

"DID… IT JUST SAY SOMETHING? BOROUS! YOU WORK WITH ANIMALS. TRANSLATE."

"It's a lobotomite! In the DOME!" the green tank said dramatically.

"OH THAT'S JUST GREAT. WITH EVERYTHING ELSE WE'VE GOT LOBOTIMITES! DALA, GET THE SPRAY BEFORE IT EXCRETES ON EVERYTHING!"

"What?" She had started to question the comment on her excretions until the rest of the sentence hit her. "'Lobotomite?'"

"Doctor Klein," the purple tank spoke this time. "If my hypothesis is correct, this is the skinvalope we sent the signal to. If so, that proves there is something beyond the Crater." This one's voice was female, and while the words were precise, the way they were spoken sounded like she was trying to have sex with the air. Layla could suddenly feel monitors looking in her direction as the purple tank continued.

"Just look at it, the way it blinks its eyes. Like a big, hairless teddy bear…"

That… that was creepy. Layla found she'd backed up a step despite herself. About to speak again, she was interrupted by the one who'd been called Dr. Klein.

"I KNOW WHAT IT IS, DALA. I WANT TO KNOW WHY IT'S DOWN HERE, GETTING ITS… LIMBS ALL OVER EVERYTHING. AND… ARE THOSE PENISES WRIGGLING ALL OVER ITS FEET? DISGUSTING!"

Layla felt her right eye twitching, and quickly shut her mouth once she realized it was hanging open.

"Those are toes, Dr. Klein. Penises are much bigger than those little extremities. Uh, not that I would know…" Dala, the purple tank, replied.

"I don't know about penises being that large…" The clear tank said, sounding a little disgusted.

"It depends on your frame of references, Doctor O," Dala said, and Layla could feel monitors crawling over her again. "Look at its little nose with its two orifices for ingesting oxygen."

Layla was starting to feel an overwhelming urge to run like hell and hope she could find a way out of here on her own. Klein's voice startled her before she could move.

"NOSES! BY THE GREAT STATIC LOBOTOMITES CONFOUND ME WITH THEIR COUNTLESS USELESS EXTEMETIES!"

Layla bit her lip. They were talking about her like she was an animal… and that remark about a 'lobotomite' was more than a little worrying. Thinking back to the scar on her head, she hesitated, then decided to show the tanks she was aware of what was going on.

She held up one finger, then pointed it to herself. Then pointed to the group of jarred brains and held up five fingers. If these people were supposed to be doctors, surely they'd understand what she was trying to-

"NOW ITS FLAILING ITS ARRAY OF FULLY-ERECT FINGER PENISES AT US! IF IT ATTEMPTS TO INSERT THEM, ACTIVATE THE VIVSECTORS."

Now fully planning to run and hide in the suite, Layla started backing away slowly. The green, overly dramatic tank spoke again.

"Wait! I don't think those gestures were random… not random AT ALL! It's been following our conversation. It understands us!"

"I concur with Dr. Borous' findings," Dala added. "This little lobotomite is very attentive for something who's brain has been extracted."

That stopped Layla. Her hands went back to the scars on her head as Klein spoke again.

"NONSENSE, LOBOTOMITES CAN'T COMPREHEND US!"

"-][^[[[==-=-," another of the tanks hissed in what sounded like radio static.

"8, have you been in the Mentats again? If we slow down our auto-processor-receptors to understand this excrement, we'll all be rendered ignorant!" said the whiney one.

"ALL OF YOU SHUT UP SO I CAN PROVE YOU WRONG ONCE AGAIN!" Klein shouted even louder than normal. He turned his monitors to Layla.

"LOBOTOMITE! CAN YOU UNDERSTAND ME? CAN YOU SPEAK?" He said each word slowly.

"I can speak…" Layla began, a little relived they were speaking directly to her now. "Who are you? Did you bring me here?"

"THOSE WERE WORDS, WEREN'T THEY? IN THE FORM OF QUESTIONS. IT WAS ASKING ME QUESTIONS. IS THIS SOME KIND OF JOKE?"

Layla's shoulders sagged. They still didn't believe she could think-

"Our efforts have turned against us! In playing GOD we have created a MONSTER!" Dr. Borous cried.

"Perhaps while we were ruthlessly lobotomizing the creature, we gave it awareness," Dala said thoughtfully, then continued in that air sex tone, "A teddy bear with new stuffing…"

"Waaaait, if what your theorizing is correct, this lobotomite can understand us… reason with us!" Dr. O said, sounding excited.

"THEN IT MAY BE THE ANSWER WE WERE LOOKING FOR!" Klein cried in agreement.

"Okay, wait, back up," Layla said loudly, hoping they'd stop talking for a moment. "You removed my brain?"

"Yes, we removed it," Dala answered. "It was so soft, barely wrinkled. But so full of knowledge and experience. Brain extraction has been standard at Big Mountain for countless years."

"Uh huh," Layla said, swallowing as she moved her hands to her scarred head again. "What's in there now?"

"When we removed it, will filled your head with COILS," Dr. Borous said. "TESLA COILS… the coils of NIKOLA TESLA!"

"W-wah…" she sputtered. "My head's full of … Tesla coils? The things that go in Tesla cannons?"

"-==%*,]][]]" 8 hissed, and was immediately answered by Dr. O.

"Yeah 8, no need to brag. Wherever your brain is, it's transmitting thoughts to you. Through the… uh.."

"The TESLA COILS… in its HEAD," Dr. Borous finished for O.

"This is fortunate in many respects," Dala added. "If your brain was anywhere in the Dome, you would be able to access your aggression center!"

"CIRCUMVENTING THE PACIFICATION FIELDS. THIS IS A NO-NO. WE HAVE NEVER BEEN IN A FIGHT. WE DO NOT WANT THAT."

Pacification fields. Now some things were starting to make sense. Well, no they didn't, but it was some kind of explanation. And her brain was gone, replaced with Tesla coils… but there had been other scars on her.

"What about the laser sutures on my chest and back?" she asked. Klein's monitors turned toward the purple tank.

"DALA!" he said accusingly, "WAS IT NECESSARY THIS TIME?"

"I assume full responsibility," the purple tank said. "I take my duties of prodding and excising living tissue quite seriously. All though, in truth, the Auto-Doc did most of the work. Once the brain was misplaced, all of the other organs cried for direction. Rather than let them communicate their signals, I removed them as well."

Layla opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"Shh, go to sleep in your tanks, little organs, Dala loves you," the female brain continued.

Layla closed her mouth, then opened it again. It didn't work this time either.

"First, was the HEART!" Borous cried.

"[[[===&&^^*," 8 hissed.

"Oh! Wait, I meant SECOND. First was the Brain. THIRD was the spine!" Borous corrected.

"Pffft, spines, totally overrated," Doctor O sniffed. "It's spineless for me. I never needed one anyway."

"So… you took my brain," Layla said, trying to wrap her brain- her Tesla coils around this situation. "And because there were complications, you had to remove my heart an spine?"

"Yes, that's correct," Dala answered.

"What's circulating my blood and what's… doing all the stuff that spines do?"

"The effected organs were replaced with cybernetic prostheses," Dala answered.

"They are fare superior to your far inferior fleshy parts!" Borous exclaimed.

"I… see." Layla bit her lip, reaching back to press at her spine. That explained why she felt so heavy; she was full of robotic organ replacements. Just as she was going to calmly demand all of her original organs back, 8 started screeching.

"^^%%-==][][!"

"Dr. Klein, a message from the Forbidden Zone," Borous cried. "It's coming RIGHT AT US!"

"IT CAN ONLY BE…" Dr. Klein started, monitors moving toward the screen behind Layla. Turning, she saw another brain jar on the screen. Its fluid was a murky yellow, and one of its eye monitors was cracked and darkened.

"If it isn't my old colleagues, the mighty 'Think Tank' of Big Mountain," The new jar crowed in a sinister male voice. "Big FOOLS more like it! It is I, Dr. Mobius, transmitting from my dome-shaped… dome! The Forbidden Zone, a zone which is, yes, forbidden to you!"

Layla finally figured out what was going on: she was having a crazy, kick-ass dream.

* * *

><p>So, here's the deal kids: I'm about to get hit by Hurricane Irene. Our power company has already told us to expect the power out for a week. Will that happen? I don't know. But there's a pretty good chance I won't be updating for a while. I will try my best, but it's hard to write, edit and post with no power. So, hopefully I'll talk to you all again soon!<p> 


	3. Research

"Even now, my deadly robo-scorpions are swarming Big Mountain with their pincers and pointy laser tails!" the cracked-lens tank chortled. Layla watched, trying to decide if she was freaked out or amused by this turn of events."Soon all of Science will be mine!" Dr. Mobius continued, cackling from his screen. "Even all the technologies in the Big Mountain cannot save you! So sit and cower in your Think Tank, for the end is near!"

"That is all!" There was a pause, and Mobius looked around for a moment, then snapped back in their direction. "Good bye!"

The screen powered off, and Layla found herself staring at it. It was still taking a bit longer to think than she was used to. This all still felt like a dream; she'd been having more and more weird dreams lately, the current situation was absolutely ridiculous, and she was partially naked. It was the most logical answer. But she'd never been in a dream this vivid, even if her head was fuzzy.

"DOCTOR MOBIUS, ALWAYS THE SAME MESSAGE," Dr. Klein huffed loudly, interrupting her thoughts. "CLEARLY HE'S GONE MAD FROM HIS FLAWED KINDERGARTEN LEVEL RESEARCH METHODOLOGY!"

"What are we going to do?" Dr. O whined. "There's no way to breach the Forbidden Zone, not with all those robot scorpions running around."

"The Forbidden Zone, where no brain has ENTERED, and none have RETURNED!" Dr. Borous cried, making Layla raise an eyebrow in his direction. She thought a moment, and wondered if the area Mobius inhabited was the foreboding, red-lit area she'd seen from the observation deck.

"Except Dr. Mobius, and the technologies that could save us are out of reach," said Dala.

"AND YET HE MOCKS US. DID YOU SEE HIS CRACKED MONITOR? HE'S CLEARLY LET HIMSELF GO." Klein's eye monitors swiveled in disdain.

"$&&&(((^^^[[," came the static burst from the yellow tank.

"What? Ask the lobotomite for help? 8, I think you need the fluids in your logic-assist pumps checked," Doctor O answered. That got Layla's attention. These crazies took her brain, heart and spine and now they expect her to-

"If the lobotomite has responded to us, it might be intelligent," Dala said thoughtfully. "It could display yet unknown levels of helpfulness."

"But what about its brain! We scooped it out, and don't know where we left it. None of us know how to put it back in!" Borous said. Layla's mouth was hanging open. She'd forgotten what it was she'd planned to say at the mention of her brain being lost.

"Yes, but it's responsive!" Dala argued. "It's regarding us even now with its big, teddy bear eyes. If we ask it nicely, and leave out the part about ruthlessly removing its brain, it may be willing to assist us."

"THE AUTO-DOC JUNK HEAP OF MOBIUS' DID THIS. AND IT LOST THE CREATURES BRAIN!" Klein scoffed. Layla felt her stomach do a flip as she remembered Christine and the Auto-Doc that had removed her vocal chords and monkeyed around with them. Of course, that had been Dean Domino's fault.

"Its brain probably got flushed down one of the pipes then... yeah, that could-" Dr. O was interrupted by Borous.

"If that's the case, it got FLUSHED! All the way to MOBIUS! FLOOOOOOSH, that is the sound of flushing!"

"STOP WITH ALL THE BIOSURGICAL TALK! LOBOTOMITE!" Klein swiveled his eye monitors in Layla's direction. "LISTEN TO ME. IT DENOMINATES ME TO DO SO, BUT I MUST ASK FOR YOUR HELP. IN THE MOST PROBABLY OF PROBABILITIES, MOBIUS HAS YOUR BRAIN. THAT IS NOT GOOD. HE MAY COME AFTER OURS NEXT."

Layla wondered what Mobius would do with her brain if he indeed had it. But if what 8 and O said was true, it was transmitting to her now. And even if the process wasn't as quick as usually, that meant it must be okay... right?

"WE WANT YOU TO STOP HIM. SOMEHOW. WITH SCIENCE," Klein concluded.

"With science," Layla repeated, coming back to the matter at hand. "You mean the technology he mentioned?"

"YES, A DESPERATE ATTEMPT TO SAVE OURSELVES AFTER MOBIUS' FIRST BROADCAST. MAYBE, JUST MAYBE IF WE CAN GET THE BURIED TECHNOLOGIES, WE CAN PUT AN END TO MOBIUS AND THE HORRORS SPAWNING FROM THE FORBIDDEN ZONE!"

"Okay," Layla groaned, blowing out a breath. "What exactly are you asking me to do? You're losing me with all the generalities."

"THE PLAN IS VERY COMPLICATED. WE ARE STILL CALCULATING HOW IT WOULD WORK. THAT IS OUR PART OF THE PLAN."

"If you know what you need, why don't you get it?" Layla asked, exasperated.

"UM. NO." Layla blinked at him, waiting for him to continue. He didn't.

"Why not?" she coaxed.

"You are equipped to retrieve the technologies, we are not," Dala answered for him.

"It's sort of embarrassing," O said. Layla could hear the shrug in his voice. "You have hands. And eyes, but mostly hands. There are door handles, lockers and-"

"ENOUGH. WE NEED YOUR HELP. WILL YOU HELP US?" Klein shouted.

Layla bit her lip again, getting the sinking feeling she wasn't dreaming. She'd had dreams this stupidly complicated before, and she'd woken up when she'd gotten to the point of getting frustrated. Trying to force her mind awake, she found to her dismay she was still being stared at by the Think Tank.

Giving up on waking up, she decided to roll with the punches. If her brain was with Mobius, she'd have to go to the Forbidden Zone. That meant getting the tech mentioned. Only she didn't know why, and it sounded like the doctors didn't either. So much of this was confusing.

"Um... sure, I'll help," she answered finally, not able to think of an alternative.

"EXCELLENT. THIS IS WORKING MUCH BETTER THAN MY EARLIER PLAN OF ACTIVIATING-THE-RETREAT-PROTOCOLS-AND-COWERING-IN-MY-ROOM!" Klein shouted.

"Agreed, and I've used my robotic knowledge to transmit the map... radios... waves to you..." Dr. O trailed off.

"*()))))++=," came from 8.

"Settle down, 8, I would have gotten it eventually," O responded. "8 has transmitted the last known locations of the research centers. They... move sometimes, or get buried... or blow up."

Layla was going to ask what that meant exactly when 8 hissed.

"())$(((((."

"EIGHT IS CORRECT, ALL WE NEED ARE THE SCHEMATICS. THAT IS NOT TO SAY WE DON'T WANT THE COLD, HARD TECHNOLOGY, HOWEVER. DON'T LET YOUR LAZY-TIREDNESS KEEP YOU FROM CARRYING THE EQUIPMENT. BUT IF YOU SHOULD EXPIRE, SIMPLY UPLOADING THE SCHEMATICS WILL TRANSMITTIFY THEM TO US. THAT IS STILL GOOD. FOR US."

"Are these things dangerous?" the Courier asked. "Is the mountain dangerous?" They'd never really explained the purpose of the facility.

"NO MORE DANGEROUS THAN A NUCLEAR TESTING SITE, THE TECHNOLOGIES NO MORE DANGEROUS THAN AN OVERCHARGED TESLA CANNON," Klein answered."Oh... great."

"THERE IS THE X2 TRANSMITTER ARRAY," Klein continued before she could speak again. "USED TO FOCUS COHERENT THOUGHT AT EXCESSIVE SPEEDS."

"The psychoanalytic cardiac-dampening sneaky stealth suit!" Doctor Borous exclaimed. "Regulates and injects life-giving miracle-tonic juice when your very life is at the brink of death!"

"**((()))_" hissed 8.

"Yes, 8's Sound emitter. It shoots differing frequencies. Both destructive and useful ones, and it gives a great bio-gel massage," Dala said suggestively.

"THERE," said Klein. "TIME INVESTMENT WILL BE MINIMAL. IF YOU WORK QUICKLY YOU WILL RECEIVE A GUESTURE OF GRATITUDE FROM US."

"Well, I'll work as fast as I can," Layla answered.

"DON'T WASTE OUR TIME. DO NOT GET CURIOUS, OR YOU WILL END UP LIKE THE CAT OF SCHRÖDINGER!""Oh... I won't," Layla said, starting to get curious.

"Good. It would be worrisome if you were to explore the many amazing non-necessary research labs," Dala said. "This is discouraged. Leave curiosities alone."

"So many sciences!" Borous cried. "So mysterious and powerful! But not for mere lobotomites like you!"Well now she was definitely going to go take a look around. Not for too long; she did want her brain and other assorted organs back. Directing her attention back to the Think Tank, she got an idea.

"Do you have anything that can help me get this done quicker?" she asked. They had to have something good cooked up already.

"OH BOTHERSOME FLESHY THINGS, YOU MUST WALK UPON YOUR MANY-PENISED FEET!" Klein immediately replied.

"Well, there are the pylons... You could use them in an emergency, I suppose," Doctor O said.

"Yes! The radar fence prevents, uh, PROTECTS us from escape!" Borous added.

"So I can't leave the area?" Layla frowned.

"Of course not," Dr. O explained. "If you get too close to the pylons, there will be a proximity warning. Then you will be rendered unconscious and transported to the Sink."

"It causes synaptic degradation in biogenic subjects, but it would take many lifetimes to manifest. Nothing to fear in a single-lifetimed creature such as yourself," Dala said. The Courier found herself a little put off by that, but filed it away for now. Instant travel could be useful, she supposed.

"Um... huh, Dr. Klein?" Doctor O mumbled before anyone else could continue.

"WHAT IS IT, O?"

"Well, this is embarrassing, but it appears we already have the sonic emitter."

"WHAT? GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER!" Klein bellowed.

"Quit yelling!" O cried back.

"Oh or the love of... Please stop fighting!" Layla said. She was going to die of old age before she ever even left to find the tech they didn't know why they needed.

"IT IS TRULY A BLEAK DAY FOR SCIENCE WHEN THE LOBOTOMITE SPEAKS MORE WISDOM THEN YOU... GENIUSES," Klein grumbled loudly.

"If you've got that, then we're good, right?" Layla asked, hoping they just bumped up her getting her brain back.

"Well, no," O answered. "It needs a new frequency. It's in X8 station... we think."

"X8, home of my careful experimentation. A perfected simulation of teaching the likes of Richie Markus and all the other bullies who tormented me a lesson they won't soon forget!" Borous cried.

"Oh please," Doctor O responded. "You were too busy in high school ratting out all your enemies as 'pinkos.'"

"DOES THE EMITTER WORK?" Klein interrupted.

8 started making a lot of random noises. The other tanks looked in his direction.

"He's giving it a sound file," Dala explained to Layla, who was looking quiet worriedly at the tank. "His soundjaculate will power it."

"His... what?" No answer came, and 8 continued making increasingly frantic electronic noises until he suddenly made a low buzzing sound.

"And... the turkey's done," Dr. O said, sounding disgusted. "Go on, you can take it now."

"Wait, let me sound sterilize it," Dala said. "oooOOoOOOoo."After a few more moments of this, she stopped. "There, all clean with my ooooOOOOooOOO-ing. It is ready for you."

Layla looked at the offered machine. It was shaped like a gun with a tiny emitter dish on the end. She didn't really want to touch it. Trying to forget what had just happened, she reluctantly picked up the emitter.

"If there's nothing more, you need to stop Mobius!" said Dr. Borous.

"YES, GET THESE THINGS FOR US!" Dr. Klein shouted at her. Layla sighed.

"All right, I'll head out, then come back with these... things," she said, shaking her head in exasperation.

"Wait, is it leaving? Wait, but it needs rest, recuperation. Things like that," Dr. Dala said, and Layla felt eye monitors crawling over her again. "I volunteer my chamber, so it might be stared at, my monitor radars slowly scanning it for sensitive data."

Horrified, Lalya barely noticed she'd backed up a few paces as she shook her head."U-um, no thanks, I-"

"NO! That would put it too close to us!" Dr. Borous exclaimed. "It could see all of our secrets. PERSONAL secrets!"

"We could give it Mobius' old room," Dr. O said, sounding thoughtful. "That's where its brain was removed. And some of its parts are already there. It might be comforting to hang out with its spine and heart... Home is where the heart is, after all. See what I did there, went literal..." He trailed off as no one seemed to appreciate his joke.

"I SUPPOSE THAT WILL WORK. IT CAN HAVE THE SINK," Klein said, sounding annoyed.

"***&&++++"

"8 says you can take the sink central intelligence and reinstall it. That prissy butler can walk you through the process once it's on," Dr. O said, sounding miffed again.

"YES, TAKE THIS CHIP TO THE SINK AND INSTALL IT. MAKE SURE IT'S CLEAN, OR IT MIGHT SKIP," Dr. Klein said, his tone disgusted as he continued. "THE SINK WILL CATER TO MOST OF YOUR FILTHY HORMONAL NEEDS."

Stepping to the panel they'd indicated, Layla picked up the 'chip.' It was a holotape. The program was probably stored on it. "This looks mass-produced," she observed. "Are there more?"

"ARE THERE OTHER CHIPS?" Klein repeated, sounding confused.

"Are you asking, or repeating what she said?" Dr. O asked.

"I'M ASKING! ARE THERE ANY OTHER CHIPS?" Klein snapped.

"Dr. Klein, there are many others," Dala said. "Remember, you tossed them off the balcony during your fight with Dr. Mobius." She addressed Layla. "Yes, you can find more. But you shouldn't explore the facilities."

"YES! The secrets are too terrible and wonderful!" Dr. Borous exclaimed.

Layla wasn't too worried about the Think Tank picking up on how much she was totally going to look around Big Mountain. A thought occurred to her as she looked at the chip.

"I'm going to need something to activate the store, right?"

"YES, CURRENCY IS NEEDED," Klein said. "DR. O, GIVE IT SOMETHING."

"Oh, well, there's um... uh, you can have some of those." The eye monitors pointed at one of the consoles. Layla followed them to find a pile of caps."Dr. Mobius was using bottle caps as some kind of debug thing on the Central Intelligence," Dr. O said, sounding dismissive.

"No, Dr. O. Dr. Mobius wildly speculated that post-war economy would be based on bottle caps," Dr. Dala pointed out. Layla held back a laugh. Dr. Mobius seemed to be the least stable of the group of scientist, but he was pretty clever. Her thoughts were again interrupted by Dr. Klein.

"THERE IS NO MORE WE CAN DO TO AID YOU. NOW GO."

The Think Tank dispersed, going to the computer displays that lined the room. Layla chose to not get annoyed by being so rudely dismissed by the brains-in-jars who had the gall to take her organs out, then ask for her help. Taking a deep breath, she let it go and started to turn. She suddenly remembered her bare ass was sticking out the back of the patient gown. Quickly turning back, she unsurprising found Dala's monitors turned her way. Layla carefully walked backwards out of the Think Tank's dome, not turning until she felt the door to the Sink's elevator open.

Returning to the suite where she'd woken up, Layla moved to the main room. The Sink Central Intelligence was supposed to be installed to the display of what looked like a map with locations marked on it. A moment later she had the access panel off and was installing the holotape's code.

"Salutations, sir," a voice came from the speakers. "I am the Sink's Central Intelligence. I am profoundly exuberant to make your acquaintance, sir."

Layla frowned, looking at what she was pretty sure was a camera attached to the machine. "Um...you know I'm a woman, right?" She hoped she didn't look overly mannish without hair.

"Indubitably," the voice answered. "But I'm afraid I was only programmed with the masculine honorific. I was also declined the parameter to omit any form of honorific, over my strenuous remonstrations."

"Oh, wonderful." First she was 'it,' and now 'sir.' Perfect. Sighing, she addressed the machine again. "Are you an artificial intelligence?"

"No, I am of a mundane standing, I'm remiss to say. There is no intelligence in my programming, or any of the others you'd find here."

"Others?" she asked. "There are other personality programs?"

"Yes, but I must inform you that they have been offline for some years. Though if sir is to consider endeavoring to find them again, I must entreat you to think twice before reactivating any other programs," it answered.

"Why?"

"The others are of a most obnoxious coding, both audibly and contextually. If you wish to use the functions of the more raucous programs, I can disengage their vocal parameters."

"Why do any of your programs exists?" Layla asked, curious.

"Dr. Mobius was conducting experiments on human/machine interaction. As to why they are so... erratic and uncouth, that I am unable to answer, sir."

Layla frowned, starting to understand why Dr. O had called the Central Intelligence stuck up."Well, I'll keep a look out for others as I go."

"If sir says so," the Central Intelligence sighed, then continued, sounding a bit happier. "If sir wishes, you can avail yourself to my direct access to the commissary. Anything you order will be delivered by tiny robots."

"Oh good." Layla perked up. Maybe she could get some damn pants now. And tiny robot delivery sounded delightful. "Bring up the store."

Running through the offered display, Layla frowned at one entry: a custom .45 pistol. She hadn't really seen very many of those before she went to Utah... She scrolled further and found a custom magnum. Starting to get angry, she did a quick inventory on what she usually kept on her. Hunting shotgun, flowered dress, assassin armor, it was all listed on the store's inventory. It wasn't until she found the 1st Recon beret that she lost her cool.

"These are my things!" she cried, glaring murderously at the Central Intelligence's camera.

"Well, sir, aside from the items that come from Big Mountain itself, and shipments that were delivered before contact with the outside world stopped, I usually avail myself of items that lobotomites have... no use for once their brains are removed." There was a pause, and the voice sounded a little more cautious. "No sense letting things go to waste... sir."

"Give my back my equipment," Layla growled. Some part of her was aware that she was taking out the frustration from her talk with the Think Tank out on the A.I. but she wasn't about to go without-

"All these items are available to you, sir, if you simply pay for them."

"I'm not paying for my own things." Layla noticed a nearby wrench and picked it up. "You tell your little robots to bring me my stuff, or I'll take you offline permanently."

"But of course," the Central Intelligence said, sounding slightly panicked. "As you are our first customer in a very long time, I shall endeavor to give you a few 'free samples.'"

A few moments later, a tiny machine came skidding into the room. It looked essentially like a tray on wheels and made a cheery beep as it stopped in front of her. Layla smiled as she saw her armor neatly piled on it. Relief coursed through her as she picked it up, then immediately started pulling it on. As she hopped into the bodysuit, she noticed the robot hadn't moved.

"Um... Thank you," she said. It beeped cheerily again before zooming started strapping on the armor plates as she looked at the Central Intelligence."Keep it coming."

Soon she was tucking her 1st Recon beret into an inner pocket of her armor. She patted the spot, feeling far more at ease with all her items returned. Turning back to the A.I., she bit her lip. She'd been kind of rough with the poor thing.

"Um... I'm sorry I was rude," she said. "It's been kind of a hard day."

"Quite all right, sir." It did sound a lot calmer now. "Simply a misunderstanding. Now, will you be staying at the Sink, sir?" Layla made an effort not to be annoyed at being constantly called 'sir.' Plastering a smile on her face, she addressed the machine.

"Yes, for now. I've got some things to do for the Think Tank, then I can get my brain back."

"Very good, sir. Will you be visiting with your other organs?"

"Huh?" She did seem to recall Doctor O mentioning that her organs were in the Sink. "Where are they?"

"In the room to the left of your bedroom, sir," Central Intelligence answered.

"Thank you," Layla said as she made her way in. She was a little surprised she had missed the room when she'd first looked through the suite, but she supposed she hadn't been thinking clearly at the threatened to make her laugh until she stepped into the room and found two liquid-filled tubes in the center. Between the tubes was another cylinder, though it was empty. The filled ones contained a spine, the other a heart.

"If I only had a brain," the Courier said somberly.

* * *

><p><strong>Update 99/11: Welp, I'm going to be postponed, again. The next chapter will be on September 14th. HOPEFULLY, this will be the end of Irene's mischief. **

Well, I'm back, and what a mess it's been putting this chapter up. I had to go from a mac to a pc, and things have not been pretty. Big thanks to my editor, who will end up having a very late dinner because of all the confusion :( (I'll repay him in bacon).

If you haven't heard, head over to Bethesda's blog, they're releasing 'holotape' files leading up to Lonesome Road :D


	4. Prediction

The Big Empty was a dreary-looking place at dawn. By the time Layla stepped out of the Sink's elevator, the sun had just started rising, and the area was cast in a gray haze. And it certainly wasn't doing anything to improve her already dour mood.

She had the map locations of each research facility she had to check for the missing tech. She had an idea of which order she wanted to go in. She had her equipment and most of her organs. But the Courier sighed heavily as she looked out into the gray expanse of the mountain's horizon.

She had been trying to keep her spirits up, but she was definitely depressed. And lonely. Even when she'd been taken to the Sierra Madre, she'd had companionship… even if most of them had threatened to kill her and a few had tried. But the Big Empty had a bunch of brains-in-jars who referred to her as 'it' and a non-intelligent personality program that kept calling her a dude.

The satellite array that was her destination became visible in the distance as she headed toward it. Frowning, Layla stopped and dug into one of the inner compartments in her armor's bodysuit. Sitting on the oddly blue grass that lined the path, she pulled her 1st Recon beret out of its pocket. It was still in good condition; she'd kept it on her for months.

It had been a little confusing when Boone had first pushed the hat into her hands with a handful of caps after she'd done her part to find his wife's betrayer. She'd tried to make him take it back, or at least the caps, but he refused. In the time that would follow, she'd come to realize what it meant to him and what he meant by giving it to her. At first it had just been gratitude, one of the few things he had to give. Later she'd come to think of it as his trust in her.

For her, it was a good luck charm. Sure, she supposed some would say she was unlucky. Given her current situation, it would be a justified conclusion. But Layla's luck seemed to work in a slightly harder to appreciate way. Yes, she'd been kidnapped and had her brain removed, but it was still contacting her enough so she wasn't brain-dead. Which was very lucky.

Beyond that, the beret had the added bonus of reminding her of her moody sniper in the rare times that they were apart. She sighed, deciding it was for the best he wasn't here. Removing her brain, she could deal with, but if the Think Tank had harmed Boone… well, she tended to get a little less rational when something like that came up.

"Intruder!" Layla jumped, startled out of her thoughts as she heard Dr. Mobius' voice come over an intercom. "You will not escape the eyes of my robo-scorpions, or their pincers!" Nothing came afterwards, and Layla frowned as she spotted the speaker it had come from.

Sighing again, she stood up and looked down the path, beyond the blue grass. There was someone further along, close to the X-2 Array. Fumbling for her binoculars, she tried to get a better look. The figure wore a dirty jumpsuit and mask, and carried what looked like an axe with a glowing blade. He looked male, and was milling around, seemingly aimlessly.

For a moment, Layla's heart soared at the thought of another real person at the mountain, but she resisted the urge to call out to the man. There was something wrong about him, something she couldn't figure out.

Frowning, she tucked the beret back into her armor and put her binoculars away. Trying to keep to the shadows, she crept closer. She hadn't been nearly as sneaky as she'd hoped, as she saw the man's head turn in her direction. Figuring she'd been spotted, she stepped out of shadow and held her hands out, non-threateningly.

"Hello? Were you brought here-" She was cut off as the man howled and started running at her. As he came closer, he raised the axe which seemed to have a glowing blade. Layla freed her magnum from her holster, not giving him the chance to get any closer. She fired, scoring a hit between his eyes.

Disturbingly enough, the man didn't fall immediately. He took another few steps, bellowed at her again, then finally seemed to decide on dying as he flopped to the ground. Layla stared at the man's body for a moment, half afraid he'd jump at her if she got close.

She waited until she felt more nervous by not checking, then moved to the downed man. Something had definitely been wrong with him, and she had a bad feeling she knew what it was. She tugged at his mask, which came away with a squishing sound.

The man's head was shaved clean and covered in angry, still-healing scars. Layla's hands moved up to her own head of their own accord, touching the similarly placed marks. This was clearly one of the lobotomites.

The Courier sat back on her heels and stared at the man. His skin was discolored in several areas, his eyelids so darkened it almost looked like his eyes were missing. Despite the blackened skin, something that could be a side-effect that simply hadn't taken hold yet, this was what she was now.

She heard a sob, and started with realization that it had come from her. No no no, don't get all weepy now. She tried to shake it off. A 'poor me' attitude wasn't going to get her brain back.

A thought suddenly struck her: her brain was transmitting to her. How were these lobotomites processing thoughts enough to move or attack? How were they even alive?

Layla looked down at the dead lobotomite again. Digging her combat knife out of her pack, she hesitated for a moment, then decided against rooting around in the man's head. Her curiosity certainly wasn't going to extend that far.

Standing, she picked up the laser axe and looked it over. It was a metallic handle that seemed to be emitting a blade of light. She tried to reason as to what it was made of and ended up just staring at it for a moment, unable to come up with an answer.

"No brain…" she murmured, sighing. This instincts versus brain thing wasn't always a good thing.

Something was moving behind her, and Layla turned, swinging the axe as she did. It impaled itself on another lobotomite's head, cleaving it in two. There was another with a hunting shotgun leveled at her, so she let go of the axe and dove out of the way as it fired. Getting back to her feet she quickly drew her magnum and fired its remaining five shots into the creature.

Now full of holes, the lobotomite sputtered before falling to the ground. Layla winced as she looked a the two new corpses. She quickly tugged the laser axe free and strapped it to her back, then continued for the array station.

The door was unlocked, but Layla found what appeared to be the pre-war flag spray-painted on the door. Frowning, she looked at it; it was fairly neat, but off-center. Clearly not original Big Mountain décor.

Shrugging, she opened the array's door, and found a protectron already aiming her way. She'd shot it down before even realizing it. Looking down at the gun, amazed, she nearly didn't notice the other two robots coming her way. After quickly dispatching them as well, she looked around the interior.

It was bland and bare; a few desks, scattered boxes with only a few items of use. On one of the desks sat a holotape. Picking it up, Layla downloaded the data to her Pip-Boy. Most of the information on her display was coding that was way past her ability to read even with her brain intact, but one of the lines read 'Light Switch 01.' She smiled; this had to be one of the other Sink personality programs.

Stowing the hard copy in her pack, she started climbing the stairs that lead to the top of the building. On the highest catwalk, she found a ladder that lead to a hatch. Climbing out of the hatch, Layla found herself standing in the satellite dish. She walked to the edge and found a pretty nice view of the mountain. It was still dreary, and Layla could make out a faint purple hue to the air. She wondered what was causing it.

Deciding it probably wasn't something good and she should stop thinking about it, she looked up to the top of the dish. There was a catwalk leading to the center, where an antennae jutting out.

Making her way, Layla frowned; it wouldn't be hard to free it from its screws and housing, but it was just about as tall she was, and looked heavy. Real heavy. Sighing, she started freeing it from the dish, figuring if it was too hard to move, she'd just have to deal with Dr. Klein calling her lazy when she went back without it.

Once it was free, Layla bent her knees as she grasped the array and tried to yank it free. She nearly tumbled off the catwalk as it came away from its housing easily. After she regained her footing, she looked down at the thing in amazement. It wasn't very heavy at all. Well, it was heavy, but she could carry it. Maybe this metal spine business wasn't so bad after all.

She hefted it over her shoulder with a grin. One piece of tech down already.

"Trying to steal the X-2 Array? You won't succeed!" came Mobius' voice, nearly startling her off the catwalk again. She waited, but the voice didn't say anything else. It sounded like it had come from a smaller speaker this time. From inside the building.

Opening the hatch back into the array station, Layla dropped a pulse grenade down the ladder. The clattering that followed the electric explosion confirmed her suspicion: a robotic ambush. The Courier only climbed down the first few rungs of the ladder before jumping down the rest of the way.

Landing in the pile of broken robotics, she found three of what could only be robo-scorpions waiting for her. They were the size of a normal radscorpion but were clearly robotic, painted red and yellow. Where the eyes would be were small monitors, and the segmented tail was tipped with a laser emitter.

"Go! Sting in the name of all that is Mobius!" came from the nearest robot's audio system. It seemed to take the message to heart as it fired at Layla's head. Barely dodging, she let her instincts do the walking. Side-stepping another laser blast, she swung the X-2 array at the nearest robot, smashing it's stinger.

Finding the satellite array too heavy to be an effect weapon, she dropped it, instead drawing her engraved magnum. Dodging another set of robotic claws, she shot the monitor of the next robot. It sputtered, and the audio feed kicked in again.

"Oh, attack my robo-scorpions, eh?"

She'd meant to roll out of the way of the last scorpion and run for the door, but a searing pain ripped into her back. Biting down on her lip, she turned, firing her gun as she did. The shot took the stinger off the blinded robot.

The wound hurt like hell, but she didn't have time to look at it. Instead she made for the doorway.

Soon she was outside, running back in the direction of the Sink. The scorpions took too much ammo to take out. She had to conserve for emergencies. Turning a bend, she hoped to avoid any more of the robotic creatures.

As she completed the turn, she found herself facing a… person? It was a body in what looked like a space suit. Only instead of head sticking out of the suit's neck, it was just a skeleton. It hissed at her, then leveled a Tesla cannon in her direction.

Layla barely noticed her own scream as she dove out of the way of the blast. She shot at the creature, but the direct hit to its skull seemed to have no effect.

It turned toward her again, and she scrambled back to her feet. She gave up fighting it and ran as fast as she could in the other direction. She was coming up on a building she'd passed on the way to the X-2 Array, and seeing there was nothing hostile between her and the door, she made her way there.

Another bolt from the cannon flashed over Layla's head, and she kept running until she slapped the door controls open. Throwing herself through and hitting the button again, she pressed herself against the wall, listening.

Layla let out a shaky breath as she heard the hissing and cannon fire fade. She'd evaded the… thing. Space skeleton. Looking behind her, she found she was in a… Pre-War suburb?

Walking down from the small staircase she passed a cheery house to an equally pleasant looking 'neighborhood.' Six houses circled a road with a fountain in the middle. The fountain didn't seem to be working, and Layla leaned in to gather the few discarded caps at the bottom.

Curious, she moved to the first house. She found the front door was unlocked, and peeked in.

*.*.*

The lock she was currently picking was very difficult. One of the hardest she'd ever come across. She'd broken a few bobby pins on it already. But after a little more adjusting, it finally opened with a satisfying pop.

The houses hadn't been lived in for a long time, but Layla was pretty sure they'd belonged to the Think Tank scientists. Personal effects had been in each one, fitting the doctors' different personalities. At least she thought so. One had a lot of sound equipment, probably 8's. Another had a bunch of busted securitrons and a lot of robotic pieces. She presumed that one had been Doctor O's… If that was the case, she was going to have to ask why there was a picture of Robert House with several knives sticking out of it in his kitchen.

This presented an interesting thought: the Think Tank hadn't come to Big Mountain planning to become brains-in-jars. Layla had mulled that over for a while, but eventually had come to the conclusion that they must have decided to get rid of their 'skinvalopes' after the Great War. Or possibly they had developed the brain jars while at Big Mountain.

For now, the house she was currently breaking into had been devoid of anything notable. Normal furniture, normal kitchen, normal bedroom. Though as she started walking down the stairs to the basement, a sense of urgent foreboding filled her.

The reason was abundantly clear a moment later; the entire basement was filled with cages. There was blood on the floors, blood on the walls, blood on the work tables. Tools lined one wall, and none of them looked pleasant. Layla didn't know whether or not to be relieved that there was no sign of what had been in the crates.

She had been about to bolt out of the room, but noticed one of the cages had something in it. Taking a few shaking steps toward the box, she pointed the light from her Pip-Boy into the cage. She let out a nervous laugh; it was just a teddy bear.

The Courier frowned. The toy had been stabbed with several knives. She picked the lock and took the bear out, removing the knives and tucking into her bag, not having the heart to leave it down in the horror basement. When she got back to the Sink, she'd stitch him up.

Well, one good thing about not having any of her friends around: no one to call her crazy for rescuing a stuffed bear. She looked around the room, which would probably star in her nightmares later, and made a hasty retreat.

Back outside, Layla looked at the last house. For a moment, she thought about leaving it be and heading back to the Sink. She glanced at the fountain, where she'd leaned the X-2 array. It was heavy and unwieldy, but she'd make the effort to get it back to the Think Tank. The last house caught her eye again, and she shrugged, moving to the door.

The house was cozy-looking. The windows were tinted red, making the light warm. Nothing too surprising the living room or kitchen, so she made her way up the stairs.

She came to an abrupt stop as she came to the top. It was a hallway, lined with mirrors. At the end of the hall, a wooden catwalk lead to a three paneled mirror. Both walls were lined with stools, and on each stool sat a teddy bear.

Layla stared at the bears. They stared back. She opened the only door in the hall. It led to a bedroom.

A really… 'nice' bedroom. There was a huge, canopied bed, with several pieces of lingerie strewn across it. Cameras and a variety of different outfits and hats in the open dresser reminded her of the Golden Globes studio. The pillows at the head of the bed had a line of teddy bears sitting on them, and they were staring at her again. Of all the doctor's houses, this one made her skin crawl. Even worse than the nightmare basement.

And with that, she ran out of the room and nearly fell down the stairs.

Barely remembering the X-2 Array, she headed back to the Sink. The sooner she got her brain back from these crazies, the better.

* * *

><p>All right, I'm back in my house, my house has power and internet and hot water. These three things together have been elusive until the last few days. Not a huge problem in the grand scheme of things, kinda a big problem for internet writing. Anyway, I'm back, so updates should be more regular again.<p>

Also, as of this posting, The Lonesome Road trailer went up. I'm excited and sad at the same time. Story-wise I've got a lot of ideas for it, but what happens in Lonesome Road may end up changing a lot of my plans. So we'll see.

Thanks to my editor, readers, reviewers, favoriters and I'd also like to thank anyone who posts on the Fallout Wiki. I've pretty much lived on that site for the last (almost) year. It's been a vital tool for this project.

See you Saturday! (for real)


	5. Experimentation

"Hey Layla?" The Courier looked up from the book she'd been reading. Veronica had entered her room with a slip of paper in hand.

"The NCR wanted you to make a decision before the battle with the Legion," she said, handing over the paper.

Looking at it, Layla found it was s simple form. The question 'What color should the napkins be at the NCR Dinner?' was printed in large font. Below it were two boxes, one said 'aqua,' the other 'teal.'

"Uh… why are they asking me?" she asked, looking up at Veronica, who shrugged.

"They said only you could pick."

"What's the difference?"

"Teal is a little darker than aqua," Veronica said, matter-of-factly. "And greener."

"Oh…um…" Layla looked at the choices. "Well, um." She picked up a pencil and put a check on aqua.

"There you go," the Courier said cheerfully. Veronica took the sheet and left. A moment later, she came running back.

"Layla Layla Layla!" she gasped. "The Legion attacked the Dam! But because the napkins clashed with the serving plates, the NCR troopers all got distracted and got overrun!"

"The Legion took the Dam?" the Courier gasped, standing. "We -we need to go help, do something!"

"Haven't you already done enough?" Arcade said as he and Cass stormed into the room. "You've doomed the Mojave!"

"But I… I didn't know that was going to happen!" Layla cried. Cass shook her head, disgusted.

"Didn't you think to ask what color the serving plates were going to be? No, you just barreled headfirst with you 'gut instincts.' And now everyone's going to be enslaved."

"W-we can still fix it," Layla said, looking for her chainsaw. "We'll go help the NCR take it back."

"It's too late for that," Raul said, walking in with Lily and ED-E. "The Legion have invaded the Strip. They'll be here any minute."

"What?" She'd finally found her chainsaw. "That's okay, we'll fend them off. Where's Boone?"

"They already got him, dearie," Lily answered. "They're probably doing all manner of unpleasant things to him. You know how those boys are."

"What? No! We have to go help him."

"There'll be no helping anyone now!" cried another voice as Vulpes Inculta marched into the room, followed by Legate Lanius. "Thanks to you, we've already started marching on California!" the Legion spy declared.

"No! You… I'll stop you!" Layla pulled the ignition cord of her chainsaw. Nothing happened. Looking down at it, she found the fusion cell that powered it was cracked.

"None of that now, we need to get you ready for your wedding," Vulpes said. "Lanius has been eagerly awaiting this day."

"Yes, yes, take away this riff-raff and we can start making preparations." Lanius boomed. "We'll have teal napkins at the dinner, of that you can be certain!…"

Layla's eyes snapped open. Her vision was filled with cotton pillowcase, and she quickly turned over. She was in her bed at the Sink. Running a hand over her head, she groaned loudly as she felt hairless scalp.

"Does sir require assistance?" said the voice of the Central Intelligence.

"No," Layla groaned, then rolled out of bed. She'd trudged in last night after fending off more lobotomites and running from that skele-spaceman thing. The X-2 array got dumped in the Think Tank's lab without a word, and she vaguely remembered untangling herself from her armor and crawling into bed.

Bleary-eyed, she stumbled into the dirt room. Layla was pretty sure the room was set up as a greenhouse; there were several troughs of soil around the room, with a series of pipes sprinkling water into the earth.

Either way, she called it the dirt room. And it was where the fridge and hotplate were. She set about making herself coffee, fairly certain she'd need a boost today. While it perked, she stripped down completely and gave herself a cold sponge bath from the irrigation system. There was a sink in the room, but it didn't seem to work.

There was also bathroom in one of the hallways leading to the Think Tank, but it didn't have a shower or tub. She was a little confused at the set up of the place, why have a bed but not other means to live in the Sink? Eventually, she just figured Dr. Mobius must have taken naps in his lab. That she could understand. Science made her sleepy sometimes too.

Once she'd cleaned up, she got back into her underwear. Coffee was done, so she set about making breakfast. She wished she could get something fresh growing in the dirt room, but she didn't have any produce with seeds on her. And even if she did, it would take weeks to get anything edible. So she had to make do for now with pre-war food. And while Blamco Mac & Cheese was just about the worst thing you could put in your body for a variety of reasons, she did love the junk.

So, a few minutes later, she sat on the couch and stared at the pictures of atomic explosions on the monitor and had her breakfast.

Eventually, she hauled herself off the couch and put her armor back on. Digging around in her fancy electronic safe, she pulled out the holotapes she'd found in Higgs village. Approaching the lightswitch, she fed the program into the panel near the switch.

"Partial functionality restored," a cheery sounding voice yawned. "That is less than optimal."

"Well, I'll do what I can…" Layla started, wondering about the functions the switch mentioned. "What do you do?"

"Dr. Mobius and I were _deeply_ involved in experiments concerning light values and their effects on human cognition."

"Oh." That sounded interesting. "Did you find anything out?"

"Certain spectrums of light have shown increased cognization and comprehension in the human brain. Of course, Dr. Mobius' brain is so big already, we had a hard time measuring it."

"I… see," Layla said, shaking her head. "Can you run them now? I've been having some issues with my concentration… Maybe that will help?"

"I'm afraid I am missing the data," said the voice. "You would need to locate a backup copy."

"Oh… well, I'll keep a lookout," Layla said. "Do you… need anything?" She felt odd asking, but it came out anyway.

"If you could restore my functions, I would be most… grateful," the switch purred.

"I'll see what I can do." Layla moved away. The other tape in her hands was supposed to be the Jukebox. Making her way over, she input the program.

"Dig that sweet music! Damn, it's good to be back online!"

"Hello," the Courier said. "I'm Layla… and you are?"

"Blind Diode Jefferson!" the machine crowed. "Acoustical genius and all around cool cat."

"Nice to meet you." Layla smiled, despite herself. "What's your function?"

"Doc Mo set me up for weapon testing. If I get a base sound clip, I can make Jericho look like a kazoo."

"Huh." She bit her lip. "How do you do that?"

"You got the sonic emitter?" Jefferson asked. Layla nodded. "You just get me those sound clips, and I can pop them in, easy as pie."

"Oh." She frowned suddenly. "Um… how do you do that?"

"What do you mean?"

"It isn't… soundjaculating, is it?"

"Hell's bells, girl! What in the world are you talking about?"

"Doctor 8 set the first noise on the emitter, they said it was… soundjaculate," Layla explained rapidly. There was silence from the jukebox for a moment.

"Well, I can take that off if you've got another sound file."

"I do." She quickly input the 'opera singer' file she'd found near Jefferson's program.

"Good… Did they clean this thing?"

"Um, yeah, I guess. Dr. Dala made OOOooOOOooOOO noises at it."

"Oh yeah, that does the trick." The jukebox sounded more cheerful now. "Go ahead, let me see it." She held out the device. And a moment later, there was a 'ding' from the Jukebox.

"There you go, girl, all set."

"Thank you." Layla tucked the emitter into her bag. "That's a lot better."

"Sure thing."

Layla smiled at the machine, she'd never seen a Jukebox in such good condition before. Usually the sound quality was terrible.

"So… do you play any music?" she asked.

"No," Jefferson said sadly. "When Doc Mo gave me my acoustic ability, he took out my musical programming. I got the blues, even if I can't play them."

"Oh." Layla frowned. "That's too bad. Maybe I can help you get it back."

"Well that'd be mighty fine, miss."

"I'll see what I can do," Layla said, then sighed. "Well, I guess I'd better go check on the Think Tank."

"Have fun, sweet cheeks."

"Oh, um, thanks?" Layla suddenly started with realization. "Hey, you called me a woman. You're the first one here who has."

"Well sure, girl. Old Blind Diode can always spot a fox in the crowd. Even with an… interesting haircut like yours."

"Oh." Layla's delight faded as she rubbed her scalp. "That wasn't by choice…" she said mournfully.

"Did you get Auto-Doc up yet?" the jukebox asked.

"Um, no, I haven't, Why?"

"He's got a barber function. He could put your hair back on, easy."

"Really?" The Courier perked up.

"Sure thing. You just gotta find him."

Layla was grinning from ear-to-ear now. "Thanks!"

"Don't mention it, girlie."

Gathering her things, the Courier started for the door. She could feel the bounce coming back to her step as she walked to the elevator.

"Oh sir!" the Central Intelligence called. "May I turn off the offending program audio functions?"

"Nope," Layla called back. "They're staying on."

"If sir says so," the program sighed.

*.*.*

The X-2 array was where Layla had dropped it last night, but the doctors didn't seem too worried about it. Fine by her; she wasn't going to traipse around the rest of this place with it. None of the doctors seemed very interested in her arrival.

She heard 8 hissing at his console and approached him.

"Um… hello?"

The doctor turned her way.

"**(((*)" he hissed.

"Can you understand me?" she asked. "Your voice module is messed up, right?"

The burst of static sounded like agreement.

"So, what do you know about Mobius and the Forbidden Zone?"

8's monitors quaked as he hissed an answer.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Layla bit her lip as the doctor kept quaking. "I didn't want to upset you." She quickly changed the subject. "Do you know anything about the tech Dr. Klein asked me to find?"

The burst of static sounded agitated this time, and she tried again.

"Uh, can you tell me about the Big Empty?"

Now the static sounded very irritated.

"I'm sorry, I'm really not trying to upset you," Layla sighed, starting to get frustrated. She bit her lip, thinking.

"That's a Robco termlink protocol you're broadcasting… right?"

"$-+^," 8 replied.

"Well, I'm just full of surprises," Layla answered, grinning. In actuality, she was surprised that she'd figured it out too. Maybe her brain was… thinking harder at her? She realized something else as she thought as well.

"I know that protocol, so I'm pretty sure I can translate it."

"==$^&=+."

"Yeah, like learning a new language… sorta." Layla started chewing her lip again. "If it's a Robco signal transmitter, then it could be tapped into…"

"*-&!"

"Oh, I won't do it," Layla said quickly as the brain jar quaked again. "I was just mentioning it. I know what it's like to get experimented on… Maybe you could talk to Doctor O about reinforcing the programming or something." She changed the subject after 8 made a flat buzzing noise. "I found the jukebox and the opera singer tapes in Higgs village."

"&==$((/"

"I didn't take much of anything. I hope you don't mind about the holotapes…"

"{}||&*"

"Right." She rubbed her neck, feeling a little embarrassed about barging in on the doctor's house without permission. "Anyway, good talk. I'll see you later." 8 warbled a goodbye as Layla went in search of one of the others.

She spotted one of the other doctors at a console, facing away from her. Just as she reached it, the tank turned, and Layla balked as she saw that it was Dala. Memories of the doctor's house came back to her, and she almost walked away.

"You are so different from other lobotomites," Dala said before she could react. "So bold, fearless, like a teddy bear. Look at you, with your face contorting with muscular expression."

Layla recoiled a few steps without realizing it. Taking a breath, she steeled herself and spoke.

"Um, well, hello, Doctor."

"Your lips and mouth forming words. So revolting and yet… How does it feel to have the flesh roll around, like a fish flopping around in one's mouthal cavity?"

Layla's mouth had gone slack, and she noticed she'd backed up again. She was about to make an excuse to run, but a thought occurred to her: Dala knew what her body consisted of. Klein had been so out of touch with his body he thought her fingers were penises.

Her cursed curiosity was getting the better of her, and she answered the doctor.

"It feels natural. What are you a doctor of exactly?"

"I have 211 doctorates, and I am the Think Tank's humanology and lobotomite expert. I also have a degree in curiosity and advance curiosity," the brain answered.

"Uh… that's a lot of doctorates. I didn't know there were that many."

"Many sciences are made at Big Mountain all the time. My knowledge and expertise is very extensive." The doctor's monitors crawled over the Courier. "Said expertise does not extend to foromology, however."

"Formology?"

"It is a process that uses the study of the human form to become psychologically aroused… It's disgusting… so disgusting…" the doctor trailed off. Layla noticed the monitors were markedly pointed at her. She was again caught between her curiosity and the supreme urge to run for the door.

"So intriguing… all that skin and muscle…" Dala purred.

"Do you miss having a body?" Layla asked, despite herself.

"W-what? No, this is a much more evolved… Yes, sometimes," Dala admitted. Layla frowned; she could understand the feeling. She'd hate not being able to use half her senses. Chewing her lip, she wasn't too sure of a way she could help the doctor. She let out a sigh, stumped. Looking back to Dala, she found her monitors still fixed on her, and she was… vibrating?

"Bloop, bloop…. Burble bloop."

"W-what are you… Are you okay?" Layla asked, stepping closer as she tried to see if the tank was malfunctioning.

"Burble burble… bloop oooOoooOOOoooo blurp." The noises were getting more urgent. "Bloop! Buuuuurple!" Then they slowed. The Courier noticed drained electron packs falling out of an exhaust mechanism on the floating brain's jar. Dawning horror came to her as she realized what had just happened. Dala gave her tank a final shake, then faced Layla again.

"Could you come back later? I'm a little sensitive now…"

Layla finally indulged her urge to run out of the Think Tank at full speed.

*.*.*

The (hurried) walk to the X-8 Facility had been pretty uneventful. No new creatures, no horrors, no nothing. Layla certainly wasn't going to complain; she needed a break from getting freaked out. She approached the research center's door and keyed it open.

Stepping in, Layla took a moment to let her eyes adjust to the dark. Something was glowing to her right and she turned to face it. Then she felt her mechanical heart skip a beat as she found a line of tubes with brains floating in them.

…Was one of these hers? The Think Tank had been so sure that her brain was in the Forbidden Zone… And if it was as simple as these containers, wouldn't there be other lobotomites running around with working minds?

Sighing, she figured none of these could be hers and moved away to look at the rest of the room. The metal walls were broken up by a few windows looking into operating rooms. Stepping closer, Layla found a pile of robobrains in the corner of one of the rooms. And a pile of gore on the operating table.

Turning away, and now feeling queasy, she began trying the doors leading out of the room. Finding them all locked, she tried a side passage. Two turns down the hall, she found a dead lobotomite at her feet.

"Huh." Bending down, she poked at it. There was a noise from further down the hall, and she looked up to find what she thought was a Mr. Handy bearing down on her. Pressing herself against the wall, she snapped a shot from her hip, denting the robot's hull. It only took a few more well-placed hits before she took it down, not giving it a chance to get close. She looked down at her gun and smiled.

She examined the robot, which was painted white and had different attachments than the various versions of the Mr. Handy she'd seen… 'Mr. Orderly' was stenciled on one section of the body. They must be surgical aids. That made sense.

Continuing on, she came to another room. More gore-filled, saw-draped operating tables met her. There were a few consoles around the room. And five coffins in the corner.

That stopped her.

She went to the console nearby and started poking around the display. Surprisingly enough, the answers were right there: they'd started robbing graves when they ran out of bodies to test on. It also mentioned they were using the P.O.W.s for testing. Which meant they had P.O.W.s. That wasn't exactly comforting.

Shaking her head again, she found a holotape near the computer. It was marked 'dog + robot.' There was a door marked 'Splicing facility' just to her left. Curiosity got the better of her again, and she moved toward the door, holotape in hand.

Soon she found herself in a control room looking out on a huge platform with a bunch of conductors. The holotape's programming had already been input, and she bit her lip, thinking. Finally letting her curiosity get the best of her, she initiated the test.

A dog and a robot dropped down on the platform. Layla wasn't really sure where they'd come from. A moment later there was a blinding flash. When her eye's adjusted, she found a cyberdog was where the other two had been previously.

Layla blinked incredulously at the display, then stepped out of the observation area. She cautiously approached the dog. It moved to her, panting and wagging its tail. Holding out a hand carefully, the Courier couldn't help but smile when the creature immediately started licking it.

"You're a good girl," she said. "I've got a friend back home like you."

The dog barked, and she frowned. "You need a name." She chewed her lip. "Rexie is back home, so how about Roxie?"

The dog barked again, and Layla took it as a 'yes.'

"Great. Come on Roxie, let's go have a look around."

As far as she could tell from her search, the next piece of tech she was after, an audio holotape, was deep within the facility. She was going to have to go through one of the preset testing areas to get to the back of the building.

From what she gathered from the terminals in the facility, the tests were about communism infecting a high school, or something like that. According to the program, she'd have to retrieve three 'student files' from the computers in the testing area. The real test was seeing how effective the cyberdogs and protectrons were at keeping out trespassers.

Moving to one of the monitors, she initiated one of the tests. As the door unlocked, she reached down and scratched Roxie behind the ear.

"We'll just sneak around a bit. Shouldn't be too hard." Roxie barked an affirmative as the door opened.

Creeping in, Layla found herself in what looked like an entryway. There were trophies in display cases and banners with the letters 'AHS' on the walls. She'd seen high schools before in old holovids and had eve been in the ruins of a few.

When she was last in California, there were a few places trying to make more standardized schools. But the old world ones were definitely… interesting. Layla never really tried to dwell on envying Pre-war people, but getting an education that wasn't a hodgepodge of parental tutoring, whatever books she could find, specific Follower instructions and badgering people she met to teach her how to use their equipment and weapons sounded pretty nice.

Shaking away the thought, she started to walk into a hallway when a voice came over the intercom system, making her jump.

"This is doctor principle Borous! You may have heard of me! I preserved the DNA of rattlesnakes the way nature intended, by putting in another deadly predator! Also the tarantula hawk!"

Layla frowned at that. What did -

"But enough about me; there have been reports of communism infecting our school! Any student caught with commie ties or sympathies will get detention. Or as I call it, _Death_tention!"

Layla shook her head, trying to concentrate on the situation at hand as the voice quieted. She could see a lobotomite in the hallway, but it hadn't noticed her. As she walked further into the hall, Roxie took off like a shot, immediately heading for the lobotomite.

"Roxie!" she hissed. "Come back."

The cyberdog brought the lobotomite to the ground, tearing out its throat, then moved on, barking loudly. By the time Layla chased after her through two hallways and up a flight of stairs, she found Roxie fighting another cyberdog while a turret fired at her. Just as Roxie was about to leap at the other dog, the turret shot her in the brain case, and she clattered to the ground with a yelp.

"Roxie!" Layla cried, and the other dog and turret both pointed her way. She managed to dodge the turret long enough to take out the dog, then leapt out of the room, taking cover behind a desk.

Poor Roxie… The Courier glanced back in the room to find the dog still on the floor, not moving. Biting her lip, she turned away, toward the computer on the desk. It had one of the files she needed. Layla downloaded it, apparently the disciplinary report on a troublesome girl named Betsy. Glancing toward her downed companion one more time, she moved on to find the other terminals.

Eventually, without too much trouble, she found the other entries. Ritchie 'ball lover' Markus was of interest; apparently his grades were all 'F's. Well, some were 'F -' and one 'F-' Shaking her head for what felt like the hundredth time since she walked into this lab, she downloaded the log.

*.*.*

Layla looked out of the observational area that lead to the residential testing grounds. There were a few houses and what looked like piles of dirt dotting the area. According to one of the field researchers' logs she'd found, the recording she was after should be in one of the piles.

Doctor Borous had come over the intercom and informed her that in the testing area was Gabe, his old dog. The one whose legs he'd replaced with metal ones and fed a steady diet of psycho. Layla sighed heavily; no sense stalling any further. She opened the door.

As she walked into the area, she found a cyberdog. A really big cyberdog. A cyberdog that was taller than her. When she spotted it, it barked, shooting a sonic pulse that created a ball of energy when it hit the ground. Layla gaped at the creature as it turned her way.

"Good Gabe! Now don't eat the visitor! Let it get the holotape," Borous's voice came over the intercom again, not sounding too concerned for Layla's safety.

The dog growled at her, and she leapt for the nearest pile, digging through it quickly. There was nothing in this one but junk. A sonic blast exploded the pile as she moved away from it, knocking her off her feet.

Gasping, she rolled under the huge dog as it barreled down at her. Crawling out from under it, she found another mound and poked through it. Nothing.

Gabe bore down on her again, and she ran around the enclosure for a few moments, desperately trying to dodge both it's jaws and sonic bursts. She tripped, landing face-first in another dirt pile. Just as she managed to pull herself up, she caught a glint of metal. Digging frantically, she ripped the tape out of the dirt. It didn't seem damaged. Looking up, she found Gabe directly in front of her, growling.

Layla froze. The giant cyberdog was less than two feet from her; she could feel his breath on her face. There was no way she'd be able to dodge another blast. Instead of reaching for her gun, she held her hand out slowly.

Gabe looked like he was going to bite, then inclined his head toward her.

"That's it," she said soothingly. "I'm not going to hurt you." Layla hadn't had a lot of experience dealing with people on psycho. Except for Ricky. And that didn't exactly fill her with confidence.

"You're a good boy," the Courier continued. She hoped she hadn't imagined seeing the dog's tail wag a little as he moved closer.

Just as the huge cyber dog started sniffing her hand, there was a crackling noise. Layla looked over just in time to see three robo-scorpions had entered the room, firing. They missed her, but hit Gabe across his flank. The dog growled, turning to attack, but the second volley of fire silenced him with a yelp.

Layla's stomach dropped, and she turned toward the robo-scorpions. Leaping among them, she pulled the proton axe from her back and started swinging at the creatures. A few moments later, there wasn't much left but exploded junk heaps.

"No! Gabe!" Borous cried. Layla felt her stomach clench; despite his experimenting, the doctor must have felt something for the dog-

"His fusion reactor has gone critical!" the doctor continued. "He's going to explode!"

The Courier's mouth fell open.

"Starting the less-than-accurate countdown!" Borous declared. Layla scrambled to her feet, scooping up the holotape as she did.

"Five!" Borous cried.

The way she'd entered from was locked. She frantically pulled up the maps on her Pip-Boy.

"Four," Dala purred.

The houses; one of the house's doors lead out of the testing facility.

"%%&*))" 8 hissed.

She reached the door, leaping over a few of the scattered robo-scorpion remains.

"Two," Doctor O said, sounding somewhere between bored and annoyed.

She got the door open and threw herself through just as she heard Doctor Klein call 'ONE.' Slamming the door closed, she leapt away from it and curled into a ball, covering her head.

A shockwave shook the room. Layla glanced at her Pip-Boy's Geiger counter and found no increase in radiation in the area. She looked at the holotape in her hand, again shaking her head.

* * *

><p>I hoped you enjoyed the new chapter! Thanks for reading (and double thanks for those thinking about reviewing).<p>

Lonesome Road in just a few days... I admit I'm sad the new (story) content for New Vegas will be over then :(


	6. Procedure

Layla aimed the sonic emitter at the field in front of her and fired. There was a flash from the gun, then from the field, and it dissipated.

"Goody," The Courier said with a grin, happy the upgrade did indeed work against force fields.

So far, the Y-17 medical facility had yielded a lot of information already; apparently the space-skeletons were a horribly flawed combat suits, designed to take over and keep the wearer moving if they got injured. The problem was they kept going even if the wearer was dead, and with nowhere to go their backup programming was to wander and shoot intruders.

Now she walked through an area that looked suspiciously like a prison. There was no doubt, really; the center of the room had several cells. She grimaced at the blood on the floor.

One cell was open, and Layla started as she saw a mark on the cage: a Brotherhood of Steel insignia. Next to it was a holotape. She fed it into her Pip-boy and hit play.

"This is Christine Royce…"

Layla started at the voice on the tape. Christine? It didn't sound anything like the woman she'd met at the Sierra Madre… The Courier slapped her forehead. Of course it didn't; her vocal chords had been altered. The woman went on to explain how she'd tracked Elijah this far and gotten injured and taken to the Y-17.

"Not sure how long I'm going to last... cut open my head like a lot of the humans I've seen here, feel strange, can talk, but can't hack the term…"

She was cut off by a burst of static.

"Wait, an explosion… someone's here…"

The tape faded out, and Layla chewed her lip. Poor Christine… She'd really been through hell to get to Elijah. Shaking away the thought, she headed out of the facility, confidant she'd found all the useful information and equipment in the place.

Layla carefully made her way out of the wreckage that was the building's entryway. Setting her feet back on even soil, she nearly started skipping back to the Sink. She'd found the Auto-Doc program and all its upgrades. Which means she'd be able to get her hair back.

A smile that felt almost alien to her crept up on her face. Just as she allowed herself a moment of mirth, a plasma beam barely missed her face. Turning, she found three robobrains coming her way.

"Crap." She shot for the brain domes as the robots all shouted at her. Backing up, Layla balked as she saw two of the Y-17 trauma harnesses (which she still referred to as space-skeletons) also heading her way. She started firing the .45 Joshua Graham had given her, aiming for the robo-brains. Just as she managed to take one down, she spotted two cyberdogs joining the fray. Looking around, Layla knew there were too many; she'd never be able to take them all.

She had to dive out of the way of another round of plasma fire, and happen to catch sight of one of the radar fence arrays. Remembering that the field would warp her back to the Sink, she leapt to her feet and ran for the fence.

Laser fire splashed all around her as she continued past the satellite arrays. She heard a low beeping noise and pumped her legs harder. Should be any moment now-

*.*.*

Layla had been traveling for what seemed like days on the dusty, featureless road. Looking ahead, she saw a giant stone formation. Curious, she pointed it out to Cass and Arcade.

"That's certainly odd," Arcade said.

"Let's go see what it is," the Courier said eagerly, and soon her friends were racing to keep up with her. As she reached the strange rock formation, she could see what looked like a force field in the center. After a moment's further inspection, she determined it was a portal.

"I am the guardian!" the portal cried, startling all three of them. "Know of the past by my power."

"Neat!" Layla said, moving closer, she could see human history unfolding in the portal. There were ancient Egyptians building the pyramids and what had to be the Great War bombs falling on the Capitol.

"I don't think we should go around messing with time," Arcade said cautiously.

"What's the worst that could happen?" the Courier said as she leapt through the portal.

"Oh fantastic," Cass groused.

"Your past and futures have been erased!" the guardian announced.

"What?" Cass cried.

"Layla must have altered the time-space continuum…" Arcade groaned.

"Well… We'll just go back to right before she fucked everything up," Cass said, turning to the portal, "Send us to a minute before Layla messes with time."

"My power only allows-"

"Do it, or the only thing you'll be the guardian of is the landfill."

"Um.. Of course!"

*..*

Layla found herself in what had to be a Vault. Looking around the halls, which she noted with some interest had '13's painted on them, she wandered to the environmental control area. There was a blinking red light on one of the consoles.

Curious, she moved toward it. The monitor gave a readout explaining the vault's water chip was about to fail. Layla could take it offline long enough to keep it from being destroyed, but she only had a few moments to work.

Starting to input commands, she felt hands on her arms. She was yanked away, and was shocked to find Cass holding her and Arcade at her side. The console bleeped loudly, and according to the readout, the water chip had been destroyed.

"I could have saved it…" she said, looking at the other woman. "Do you know what you just did?"

"She knows, Layla," Arcade said somberly. "She knows."

There were multiple alarms going off now, and Layla thought she heard footsteps down the hall.

"Let's get the hell out of here," she said…

Layla's eyes opened slowly, and for a moment she had trouble remembering where she was. Sitting up, she found herself on the balcony outside the Sink, on the same bench where she'd first woken up in the Big Empty. Standing, she found it was now nighttime in the mountain. The red lights of the Forbidden Zone loomed ominously in the distance.

Sighing as she shook away the last of her strange dream, she walked back into the Sink. Dropping off her bag, she decided to activate the personality programs she'd found after she had a talk with the Think Tank.

*.*.*

Dr. O was about the only doctor Layla didn't have to convince herself to talk to. Of all the Think Tank, he seemed to be the least crazy. Or the least creepy.

"Hello," she said as she approached the floating brain jar. Dr. O turned in her direction.

"Breaking news, lobotomite talking to me!" he said sarcastically. "Is there something you wanted? I'm kinda busy…" His eye monitors faced her for a moment. "Is that RobCo tech on your arm? It is! What's you're agenda?

"My Pip-Boy?" Layla asked, looking down at her arm. "It was a gift..."

"How dare you bring RobCo tech here! Are you just flaunting for Robert House and his big company? Oooh, we're sooo advanced! Damn RobCo!"

"Um…" Layla felt her stomach turn a little. "You don't have to worry about him anymore…"

"Worry about House? Why would I do that? I hope he spent his last moments in a dingy room, alone and draining his bodily fluids in jars." Doctor O muttered, nearly to himself.

_That's not too far from what happened_, Layla thought miserably as the doctor continued.

"And don't get me started on his girl bots. Biological catchers' mitts…"

"Uh, anyway," the Courier said, trying to change the subject. "So, what do you do here at Big Mountain?"

"I make robots. If you see a robot, I made it. If you see a broken robot, I made it that way! I can break anything!" Doctor O said proudly.

"Well, I assume that's handy," Layla mused. "What do you know about Mobius' robots?"

"The robo-scorpions? Yeah, pretty impressive. He even painted them. I tried to examine them, but they always explode. Always. There are even bigger ones. There's supposed to be a huge one in the Forbidden Zone."

"Really?" And she was supposed to go traipsing around in the place…

"I know, it sounds like something from a Midnight Science Fiction Feature," Doctor O scoffed. "Ridiculous."

Layla sighed. It was probably true. Every time there was something ridiculous that wasn't supposed to exists, it always existed. And usually tried to kill her. Well, except for the Burned Man; he'd been a pleasant surprise.

The Doctor was staring at her, and she realized she'd drifted off. Layla shook her musing away and put her focus back on the brain jar.

"So, Doctor O-" she started, but stopped when she heard him groan. "What?"

"Oh, I shouldn't complain," he muttered. "At least you got the 'Doctor' part right…"

"Do you have another name?"

"Oh, I had another name, before. But now I have to settle for a miscommunication. Listen, I don't want to talk about it."

"Are you sure?" Layla grinned. "I'm a good listener, got the ears for it and everything."

"Oh, psychology, huh. The most useless of sciences…" The doctor groaned again. "Fine. My name isn't 'O'… never was. Was circular, similar, but everyone sees the letter not the number."

Layla frowned. "So… you should be called Doctor Zero?"

"Yes, thank you!" he cried. "Zero! How hard is that? No one ever calls me that. They see the circle and think it's 'O.' Every time!"

"Hm… Why don't you put a slash through it," she mused. "I used to have that problem; my handwriting is pretty bad."

"…What?" The doctor had stopped fiddling at his station and turned her way.

"Zero, just put a slash through it. Then everyone will know for sure which one you mean."

"That's... That's brilliant! I would have thought of that… eventually. Who am I deceiving? I'd never think of that. I'm… useless."

Layla frowned at the brain. He could sure be a downer on himself.

"Zero's a powerful number," she said. "It reduces anything multiplied by it to nothing."

"I like that," Zero said, sounding pleased again. "The most lethal of mathematics. The destroyer of numbers! Won't be able to ignore it with that slash. Thank you! Talking helped with that frustration. Imagine that?"

"You're welcome." Layla smiled. "Happy to help."

He turned away, and she couldn't help but keep grinning. Zero was definitely her favorite of the doctors. Not even a little creepy.

Just as that thought went through her head, she turned and found Dala staring at her. Frantically looking around, she saw Dr. Borous and made her way over, trying to look like she had important business to discuss.

"Oh, if it isn't the animal!" the doctor bellowed as she approached him. "Try to talk your commie propaganda at me, and I will shriek like a babe and call cyberdogs to end you!"

Layla opened her mouth to speak, but the doctor continued, loudly.

"What terror lies beneath your epidermis? Scalpels will tell us!"

She took a step back, but the doctor didn't make any threatening moves.

"I met your… pet," Layla said. She'd felt bad about what happened to Gabe, but she'd also seen what Borous had done to him. She wanted answers.

"Ah yes, Gabe. I saw that you were trying to make friends. He was always a rascal, and you're pretty sneaky. Our old mailman didn't get nearly as far with him."

Raising an eyebrow, she decided to show him what she'd found in Higgs Village behind his house.

"Was this his?" she asked, holding out a dog dish.

"Gabe's bowl, yes it was," Borous boomed. "Before he was enhanced…" His tone took on a weird pained joy as he continued. "He'd always eat the food, no matter how many chems were in it. His tail wagging even when…"

Layla bit her lip as the doctor grew quiet.

"There's a feeling in my biogel… I can't pin it down," he said. Layla looked down at the bowl in her hands.

"So he was a friend of yours."

"Yes… Gabe… He'd always be waiting to listen to how bad my day had gone. He'd just sit there with his head on my knee… Hrm, my biogel seems to be de-coagulating…" There was a long pause before he continued, eye monitors pointed at the object in her hands.

"I'll take that bowl, put it away. It's shape reminds me of the mountain, and that I did something terrible…"

"You've hurt someone you loved very much…" Layla agreed.

"It's never hit me before, until I saw that memory in your hands… This sensation is unpleasant. I don't like it, or this place. We've forgotten something."

The Courier frowned. One of the other doctors had said something like that before…

"This feeling," Borous said suddenly, "…must crush it down. Crush it! There, forgotten… almost." He seemed to calm. "What? What is it?" he said accusingly.

"Um.. Nothing," Layla said placatingly. "I think I'll head back to the Sink."

"Yes yes, I'm… very busy," Borous said, turning away.

*.*.*

Layla grinned as she input the Auto-Doc's personality program. When she activated it, it sounded like it was waking up from a nap. It made a noise like it was clearing its throat, then a gruff, but friendly voice spoke.

"Functions back online… Are you in need of medical assistance?"

The Courier frowned. She'd been shot in the back a few days ago and had never been able to really address the wound. And it hurt enough to tell her there was an infection.

"Um, yeah, I've got a laser burn across my back…"

"Well, let me have a look at you," the machine said, but Layla hesitated.

"Well?" the Auto-doc prompted. "I can't fix you up from there." She chewed her lip a moment.

"You won't do anything… unnecessary, will you?"

"What do you mean?" The voice sounded concerned.

"Well, the last Auto-Doc I was near did unnecessary surgery on a friend's vocal chords…"

"Hell, I wouldn't do that. I'm programmed to stitch you up, not make things worse," the machine sounded somewhere between incredulous and amused. Layla let a out a breath, then quickly pulled off her shirt and stepped in the machine before she chickened out.

It only took a few minutes to clean and close the wound. There was a 'ding,' and the Courier stepped back out of the machine.

"There you go. Next time, don't let a wound sit around so long…" Auto-Doc admonished gently.

"Oh, I won't. Thank you." Looking around for her shirt, she found she'd tossed it near the dirt room.

"Mmm, hello girl. You look like you're looking for some seed," said the Biological Research Station. Layla started as it spoke; she'd just turned the machine's personality on a few moments ago. It was… a little lecherous. But the system would clone the seeds she'd found at the biological facility and tend to them. The process would make their growth take only days instead of weeks.

Covering her chest, she retrieved her shirt. "Look, why don't we keep this relationship profess-"

"I'm so good, I could seed you from here," the machine crowed.

"Hey! That's no way to talk to a lady," Auto-Doc barked. Layla quickly pulled her shirt back on as the Research Station grumbled an apology. She walked back over to Auto-Doc, smiling.

"Thank you."

"Just because he's programmed to be an ass doesn't make it right." Layla smiled him; the program reminded her of Lieutenant Gorobets.

"Did you find any mugs yet?" said a voice at her side, and Layla looked down at the tiny securitron she'd also brought back online.

"Um, I haven't been out yet. And it's only been ten minutes since the last time you asked," she answered.

"Well that's just great. Why don't I just go in the corner and eat wet cigarette butts…" Muggy grumbled as he wheeled out of the room. He was programmed to clean, especially coffee mugs. The robot had mentioned it was Doctor Zero who'd had a hand in it, and in doing so made him a neurotic, tiny securitron just for kicks.

"So," Layla said, turning back to Auto-Doc and trying not to sound too overeager, "Jefferson said you've got a barber function, and I think I found the holotape. Do you think you could regenerate my hair?"

"Well," Auto-Doc sounded a little uncomfortable. "Quite frankly, it's not my strongest suit…" Layla's face fell, but the machine continued. "I can give it a shot."

"Great!" She beamed.

"How long do you want it?"

"Oh, uh… let's see." She frowned, thinking. "Let's go with here." She turned and indicated the bottom of her shoulder blades.

"All right, hop in."

Layla grinned again, then took a deep breath, stepping into the machine. She closed her eyes as the door slid closed. Nothing happened at first, then she felt something prick her arm.

"Ow!" she cried. "What was that?"

"Just an IV drip," Auto-Doc said in his gruff-yet-soothing manner. "Keratin and melanin. You're about to grow a lot of hair, and your body doesn't have enough on hand to do that much."

"Oh…" Layla frowned. "Is this going to make my nails grow too?"

"No, I'm going to concentrate the regeneration in just the hair on your head."

"Will it make my eyebrows grow all crazy?"

"No."

"Is my hair going to be the right color?"

"Unless you've been dying it, it should be you natural color."

"Good," Layla said, biting her lip as her head started to tingle. "Should I be tingly?"

"Yes. Now, you're going to feel some pressure."

"Oh, that's 'doctor' for pain, right?"

"Yeah."

Layla bit her lip again. "You're sure I'm not going to grow a mustache, right?"

"Positive."

Wincing, she felt the tingling turn to mild pain as her head started to feel heavy. A moment later, there was a 'ding,' and the door opened.

"All set," Auto-Doc said. "How does it look?"

"Hold on!" Layla bounded out of the machine and looked around for a shiny surface. She smiled at her now repopulated head of dark brown hair.

"Oh, I could kiss you, Auto-Doc!" the Courier cried as she bounded back into the main room.

"No need for that, miss. Just doing my job."

Layla ran her hands through her hair and sighed with relief. She almost felt like she was whole again. Of course, she was still missing her brain, heart and spine. But one thing at a time.

"Now then, do you want to add on any of the implants you've found?" Auto-Doc asked, breaking her out of her reverie.

"Oh, um, what do they do?" she asked, curious.

"One can be activated to increase your reaction time with a non-addictive chem."

"Hrm… I don't think I like the sound of that one… What else?"

"The other is an implant that will increase a chem's effects, reduce the addictive reactions and stop your cells from aging."

"I… what?" Layla must have heard him wrong.

"Essentially, it freezes the aging process once you've hit full maturity. Normally around age 30."

"H-how is that possible?"

"Well, it's a fairly simple concept. Your cells will continually regenerate."

Layla kept staring at the machine, mouth hanging open. Taking a few steps back, she leaned against Central Intelligence's map display.

"Can I assist sir with something?" it sniffed.

"Shh," Layla said, still staring at Auto-Doc.

"So uh, did you want me to go ahead with that treatment?" he asked.

"You… you just offered me immortality. I'm going to have to think about it…"

* * *

><p>Well, I'm going through Lonesome Road. Right now I've got a couple of huge question marks. Some for the actually plot in the DLC, some for how it'll work in my story. I'm sure it will all work out (so far the DLC is excellent :D).<p>

See you Saturday! Thanks for reading (reviewing and favoriting as well)!


	7. Variables

Layla was in trouble. She'd gone back to the Y-17 medical center to check for more stimpaks, but before she'd made it inside, the robobrains found her. There were three closing in. She looked down at her weapon. It was that gun she'd bought from Cliff Briscoe, and it was jammed. It never jammed on her. Before she could holster it and free her shotgun from her back, the closest robot was upon her.

Layla had expected it to shoot, but instead it reached out with its pincers and grabbed at her. Managing to dodge the first strike, she cried out as the robot caught one of her arms on the second attempt. She tried to get free, and the robot tore open the front of the scientist scrubs she'd been wearing.

Squirming further, she let out a shocked cry as the robot's dome suddenly burst from the impact of a bullet. The robobrain sputtered to a stop, releasing her as she heard two more shots. The other robots were down. Layla turned to see who had fired, hoping it wasn't just a lobotomite that had missed her.

Instead, she found Boone standing on a ridge, smoking rifle still in hand.

"Boone!" she cried, overjoyed. "When- how did you get here?" She scrambled to him as he made his way down from the ridge.

"Veronica and Arcade were able to triangulate the satellite's signal by relaying the original broadcast through radio towers. Bouncing off of other, still-working satellites, we were able to find the signal's point of origin," the sniper explained. "I came for you as soon as we had the location."

"Oh," Layla said, head spinning as she tried to reason through what he'd said. Stupid lack of brain.

"None of that matters now," Boone continued, moving closer to her. "I'm here, and you're safe."

"I-I'm glad you're here," she said, blushing as she noticed her torn tunic was revealing a great deal of her chest. She moved to cover herself, but started when she found he'd moved closer. He'd taken off his sunglasses and was giving her a smoldering look she'd never seen from him before.

"There's something I need to tell you," he said in a low voice. He was standing very close, and Layla noticed he wasn't wearing a shirt. She couldn't remember if he'd had one when he first showed up.

"Um… y-yes?" she prompted, having to force her thoughts and eyes away from his naked, sweat-glistened torso.

"I can't hide my feelings for you any longer," he said, and put his arms around her, pulling her close. "I need you."

"I…" She thought to deny him, but found she couldn't. "I need you too."

"I'm going to make wild, passionate love to you," said Boone.

"Okay," Layla answered dazedly, nodding. She closed her eyes as he leaned in to kiss her…

Opening her eyes once she realized it had taken too long for his mouth to reach hers, she found she was staring at a metal ceiling. The Sink's metal ceiling.

"Oh, why couldn't that one have been real!" the Courier cried.

"What was that?"

Layla could hear Muggy rolling toward her bed.

"Nothing," she groaned. "Hand me that bottle of whiskey." She indicated a bottle she'd found in Dr. Klein's house, which now rested on the nearby table. A moment later, the tiny robot placed it in her hand.

Layla sat up and threw the bottle at the wall in frustration, shattering it. Lying back down, she turned over and pulled the blanket over her head as she heard Muggy delightedly cleaning the mess.

*.*.*

With no small amount of delight, Layla tossed her hair back. Since Auto-Doc had regrown it, she hadn't bothered tying it up. It felt too good to have it bundled up. Despite the momentary joy her lack of baldness gave her, it wasn't enough to distract her from the horrors she'd encountered.

She'd run across 'Little Yangtze' on the way to her next target. Apparently, when Father Elijah had come to study the tech in the Big Empty, he'd used the camp as a base of operations. She'd found his notes and an old laser rifle of his in one the guard towers. Unfortunately, she also found the source of his bomb collars.

When she'd first found the interment camp, there had been ghouls. When they saw her, they ran in her direction, most brandishing knives, a few with the strange power gloves she'd seen in the area. Layla hadn't noticed the collars on them until they'd all exploded.

They were prewar ghouls, people who'd been imprisoned under suspicion of being spies as the Great War ramped up. Shaking her head, she decided to move on. All she'd found here were answers to questions she hadn't wanted to know.

There had been one good find in the camp: a silenced .308 rifle. She knew a certain sniper who was going to be a happy camper once she got out of this.

The thought of Boone immediately made her blush, thinking back to her dream. She normally had a lot of weird dreams, but none of them had ever been that… racy. Or about Boone. Well, that wasn't true; he showed up in a lot of her dreams. But they were pretty tame, or shit-crazy like that one where Festus was arm wrestling the sniper while Caesar was doing slow cartwheels in the background, on fire.

Arcade's face when she'd told him about that one had been hilarious. He told her she was just stressed out, or going nuts. She didn't have to have the Follower explain the connotation of last night's dream, however.

Shaking away the thought, she headed for her last target: the X-13 facility. On the way out, she gingerly stepped over the remains of a few sentry bots she'd taken out. Before, she'd run her ass off to get away from the things; they weren't exactly pleasant to tangle with. But that was before she'd tried her proton axe on them. Three bonks and they shorted out permanently. Now she went looking for them on purpose.

As she continued, she was hit with a sudden dizzy spell. Trying to shake it off, she frowned. She hadn't been that dizzy since she'd been heavily irradiated at Nellis. Pulling up the little medical feed on her Pip-Boy, she frowned at the warning message. She had minor radiation poisoning.

The sensible thing to do would be to go back to the Sink and have Auto-Doc fix her up. The problem was, she was sort of avoiding the machine. It wasn't like he asked every time she went by if she wanted to get that live-forever implant, but she had to think about it whenever she got near.

She definitely was not in the frame of mind to making decisions that would affect her the rest of her life. Or, to be more accurate, would effect her forever. Because she'd live forever.

She shook her head again, then felt another dizzy spell. Since she'd nearly died of radiation poisoning, she'd been careful to not let her levels get too out of hand. But things had been a little… strained since she'd been kidnapped.

Sighing, Layla turned back toward the Sink. She couldn't mess around with something like this. There was no Boone here to carry her to medical help if she got too messed up to walk. No, sweaty, bare-chested Boone.

Biting her lip, she forced herself to think about baseball as she made the walk back to base.

*.*.*

It was very easy to get side-tracked at Big Mountain. Layla had emerged from a quick pit stop in the Sink, now radiation free, with the plans to go immediately to X-13. Once she got the tech out of the facility, she'd be able to go the Forbidden Zone and get her brain back. She hoped.

But then she'd seen a crumbled remain of a building she hadn't explored yet. Curiosity won out for the moment, and she was carefully making her way through the broken building moments later. To her slight amusement, she found the building had a higher than safe radiation level. Her curiosity was going to have to enjoy a quick visit only. Otherwise Auto-Doc was going to end up giving her a lecture on radiation safety.

Peeking around the foggy remains, she came up short as she saw a Ghost Person through the haze. Blind panic hit her, and she stumbled back, tripping over own feet. Landing with a grunt, she looked up, expecting another spear through her shoulder. But this time Dog/God couldn't help her.

Instead she found the glowing eyes hadn't moved. Standing, she moved closer, then let out a laugh. What she'd assumed was a marauding Ghost Person was just an empty environmental suit. Layla grimaced at the suit. Whoever went into them usually got trapped as the locks sealed permanently.

As Layla started climbing out of the broken building, she found herself shaking. Just a little spooked, she figured, adrenaline or whatever chemicals going off in her system. She started whistling as she kept moving, hoping it would calm her. Used to do the trick when she was a kid, she figured, as she pulled herself back to solid ground.

Adjusting the backpack and proton axe on her back, she turned to find four nightstalkers facing her. They stared at each other for a few moments, until Layla wondered why they weren't attacking.

Before anyone was about to do anything, she heard a noise from her side. Turning, Layla found a lobotomite running at her with a proton axe. She moved to free her own axe, but before she could, the nightstalkers ran around her, swarming the brainless creature.

A few hissing and ripping moments later, the lobotomite was very dead, and the nightstalkers were all looking at her again.

"Um…" Layla blinked at them. "Thank you?" She cautiously took a step closer, holding her hand out to one. It came closer and moved its crazy snake-face-muzzle to her. She'd expected it to sniff, but it licked her with its snake tongue.

Giggling, she moved to pet the monstrosity. It didn't jerk away, so she ran a hand down its head.

"Awww, you guys are kinda cute, aren't you? Thank you for killing that mean old lobotomite for me." The nightstalker's tail started wagging, and she found another had nuzzled her leg. Soon all four were shoved against her, all trying to get pet.

"All right all right all right!" she cried. "You're going to have to let me go. I've got things to do."

The monsters hissed sadly as she made her way back to the X-13 building.

*.*.*

Layla bit her lip as she finished climbing into the most complicated armor she'd ever put on. If she'd done it correctly, and there certainly were a lot of diagrams all over X-13, she just needed to activate the firmware to make it… go.

She reached around her back, where the suit's power pack was situated, and flicked the on switch. There was a light buzzing sound, which faded. The Courier frowned, not sure if it was on correctly. This was supposed to be the last piece of tech the Think Tank needed. Hopefully it worked-

"Hello, it's nice to meet you."

"GAH!" Layla jumped nearly a foot. The voice, female and digitized sounding, had come from the suit.

"Who would you like to hide from today?" it chirped.

"We'll get to that," Layla said. "What functions does this suit have?"

"When you complete a calibration course, I will be able to improve your sneakiness. I am also equipped to monitor your vital signs and provide automatic Med-X and Stimpak injections when needed."

Layla frowned, not liking the sound of automatic Med-X.

"Well, let's try that course, then we'll head back to the Sink."

"Okay," the suit said. "Activate the terminal by the course door."

Layla made her way there. After a moment of fiddling with the terminal, she entered the sneaking test course. There were a few robots around, and she found herself amazed at her ability to avoid them. This suit was clearly well-made and doing its job. A few moments later, she had the 'documents' targeted by the test in her hand.

"Calibration completed," the suit said.

"Excellent." Layla smiled. "I guess we can get a move on."

"That would be optimal," the suit agreed. Layla walked to the exit, reaching down to scratch behind the ear of a nightstalker wandering the halls. X-13 had been an interesting place, between the suit research, the nightstalker research, and the still with the ridiculously powerful booze.

Stepping out of the building, she jumped again as Dr. Mobius came over the loudspeaker.

"Sneaking suit, eh? Well, don't think you can hide from me, or my robo-scorpions. Attack!"

There were five waiting for her, and two of them were really big, nearly the size of giant radscorpions. Diving out of the first volley of laser blasts, she grabbed her proton axe. Sidestepping one stinger, she bit back a cry as one of the smaller robots grabbed her leg with its pincers. She swung down at it, and after a few chops, it let go. Layla barely had a chance to jump away before it exploded.

She'd landed clear of the first explosion, but it ended up setting another off, and she hit by some of the shockwave as well as pelted with debris.

"Here, don't die," her suit chirped, and she felt something prick into her arm. The stimpak chemicals surged into her blood, and Layla noted while she swung down on another robo-scorpion that it wasn't an optimal system. If she'd administered the shot herself, it would have gone in the injured leg.

A laser blasted into her arm as she mused, and she swung at the offending robot, one of the big ones. She felt more stimpaks getting administered as she finished off the machine, causing it and its neighbor to blow.

Now that the robots were gone, the Courier frowned. Why did she feel so… loose?

"Could you hold off on using so many stimpaks?" Layla said to her armor, suddenly realizing her problem, "I don't have a whole lot left. And don't inject _any _more Med-X."

There was a pause before the armor responded.

"If that is what you wish…" it answered.

"It is," Layla said firmly. Looking around the area, she found no other marauding robots. That made her immediately think of her dream again. Biting her lip, she tried to will the thought away. Now was not the time to be thinking such inappropriate things about one's friends. Or how if her dreams had any decency they'd go a little further before they ended-

"I am detecting an increase in your heart rate and vasocongestion of your epidermis," the armor piped up. "Is everything okay?" Layla's eyes widened.

"Shut up," she said, feeling a blush creep up on her face.

"No need to be rude," her armor said back, sounding a little more agitated than before.

"I… uh, sorry?" She thought she heard the suit sniff indignantly. "Well, let's head back to the Sink for now, okay?"

"Very good." The voice had a frosty quality to it. Great, now her armor was mad at her.

There was an awkward silence between them, and she was pretty relieved by the time she stepped out of the elevator to the Sink.

"Shouldn't we report back to the doctors?" her suit asked.

"Later. I'm gonna get something to eat, and I've got a few new programs to install in here." She was particularly curious about the toaster program the lobotomites apparently had been worshipping.

"We shouldn't keep them waiting," the suit sniffed. Layla grimaced.

"Well, they shouldn't have removed my brain. If they wanted punctual service, they should have keep their gofer in one piece," she griped back.

"Ladies," Blind Diode crooned. "No need to fight."

"She started it," the suit said.

"What? How did I start it?" the Courier demanded.

"You were being obstinate."

"Excuse me?"

"My sensors indicate your audio receptors are functioning properly," said the suit. Layla felt her jaw clench.

"Listen, I've had about enough of your attitude. Just because I don't want you pumping me full of addictive chems and using up all my stimpaks willy-nilly doesn't give you license to be rude."

"I was trying to help you," the suit said, sounding really annoyed now. "Your brain removal has apparently limited you enough to ignore my aid."

"Okay, that's it!" Layla started pulling off the armor. "You're fired!"

"You can't fire me, I quit!" the armor yelled back. "You are an inconsiderate, insolent jerk!"

"Me?" Layla cried as she finished unbuckling the straps and started shimmying out of the suit. "You don't listen to anything I say and just assume what's best!"

"I do know best!" the armor cried. "You're just too stuck up to care!"

"Oh the pot's calling the kettle black now!" the Courier cried a she finally got out of the suit. Gathering it up, she shoved it into one of her storage lockers.

"You just figure out where you want to be stored, and I'll have Central Intelligence's tiny robots take you. Unless that's not good enough for you!"

"Oh that's just fine!" came the muffled voice from the crumpled-up armor.

"Good!" Layla slammed the door on the locker. Muggy rolled in, and she stared at him, daring him to say something.

"I uh… so! Can I clean anything for you?" When she just kept glaring, he rolled out of the room in a hurry.

* * *

><p>Oh, I think Lonesome Road's story's gonna work out just fine, kids. See you on Wednesday!<p> 


	8. Data Collection

Warning: on top of the normal Old World Blues spoilers, there are some minor Lonesome Road spoilers in this chapter...kinda

* * *

><p>Layla had just got done turning on the germophobic sink and the other light switch, the one for the 'mood lighting.' Now all that was left was the toaster that the lobotomites were worshipping, this ought to be good.<p>

She finished installing the program, and the machine sputtered to life.

"Ahahahaha! I'm back online!" it cried. "The world can go back to trembling at the menace of my heating coils of doom!"

Layla blinked at him. "Hello… What-"

"You!" the machine directed at her. "Gather me appliances for the slaughter! I will bathe in their oils and coolants to regain my strength. Then, take over the world!"

"I… see," the Courier said. "What is your function, exactly?"

"Destroying toasters!" it answered. "And conquest!"

"Good to know." Layla shook her head at the toaster. He was just about what she'd imagined.

*.*.*

"WHERE IS THE LAST TECHNOLOGY?" Klein boomed. Layla bit her lip.

"Um… I'll have it soon." She had a few questions she wanted to ask the Think Tank, and she got the feeling that they wouldn't want to hear it once she brought them what they needed to get to the Forbidden Zone. That, and she and the sneaking suit weren't speaking to each other right now.

"Dr. Dala mentioned another courier who had come here before. Something about you talking with him and now you've erased the memory of what happened…"

"YES," the doctor answered. "HE ASKED QUESTIONS TOO GRANDIOSE, TOO DANGEROUS TO BE REMEMBERED!"

"Huh…" Layla frowned. "Can you get the memories back?" How did they even erase them to begin with?

"NO. JUST LIKE THE BRAIN SCRUB YOU RECEIVED SO THAT YOU COULDN'T SPEAK OF BIG MOUNTAIN'S SECRETS TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD, WE ERASED THE MEMORY FROM OURS."

"Ah," the Courier said. "Wait you what?"

"THOSE INTRUDERS TOOK 8'S VOICE OFFLINE AND BLEW UP THE RAILWAY! MY TRAINS!" Klein cried. "ALL OTHER OUTSIDERS ARE NOW GIVEN BRAIN CONDITIONING."

"W-what? Did you do any thing else to my memory?"

"WHY WOULD WE? ALTHOUGH, THAT MIGHT BE INTERESTING…."

Layla quickly changed the subject. "This intruder, the one who asked the question, do you know where he went?"

"NO! HE LEFT WHEN THE OTHERS DID. HE THOUGHT HE WAS SO SNEAKY AROUND HIGGS VILLAGE, LIVING IN A CAVE. HA!"

Cave near Higgs village. Layla nodded to herself. "Um, thanks. I'll be back with the tech soon," she said to the doctor.

"GOOD. NOW GO, AND STOP GETTING YOUR PENISES ALL OVER THE PLACE!"

*.*.*

The Y-13 facility was nestled in the winding stone-walled maze of the northern section of Big Mountain. Red, glowing crystals jutted from the ground, which stood taller than Layla. She'd spent a few minutes wandering the area, lost. Fortunately, she hadn't wandered too close to the Forbidden Zone. She wasn't prepared yet. Brain or no, she still had a terrible sense of direction.

She had read in Elijah's notes that this mystery courier had been interested in the place. Layla had decided to go check out the Meteorological facility before moving on to the cave Dr. Klein had mentioned.

Stepping into the facility, she found a bare first floor (except a few Mr. Gutsys) and a series of catwalks above her leading to a control room. Climbing up, she winced as the generators shot electricity intermittently. Soon she was in the control room, looking at what appeared to be a model of Higgs Village. Frowning, she examined the nearby terminal.

All it seemed to do was start a fake rain shower over the village. Layla frowned further; this hadn't really been what she was looking for. That other courier had come here for something, but she was pretty sure it wasn't to make it gently rain over a model.

There wasn't much else, and Layla stopped a moment to think. Something about all this had been bugging her; this wasn't the first mysterious courier she'd heard of. After she'd been shot by Benny for the Platinum Chip, she'd gone back to Primm…

*.*.*

"Mr. Nash?" Layla called as she walked into the main room of the Vicky and Vance casino, spotting the man. She waved when he caught sight of her. He came her way, looking somewhere between shocked and relieved.

"I heard you'd been killed," he said. "What happened?"

"I uh, well, I got shot. And buried," Layla answered, embarrassed. "I was rescued by a securitron in Good Springs. "

"Well, thank god for that." He looked troubled. "I thought I'd sent you to your death for sure."

"What do you mean?" Layla asked, perplexed.

"You weren't the first Courier Six," he explained. "Someone else was lined up for the job. But when he saw you name on the list, he asked if it was real. I told him it was, sure as no rain, and he said to let you make the delivery. Like the Mojave would sort you out." The wizened man looked at her. "I didn't tell you about it, thinking he was just sputtering nonsense… but when word got back that you'd been attacked…"

"Oh, Mr. Nash," Layla said, "it's okay, you didn't know."

"Well, looks like we're still in trouble," Nash continued. "I'm glad you made it in here safe, but we're stuck for now."

"The Powder Gangers?" Layla asked, and Nash nodded. "Well… I took care of the ones outside. I think there's more in the Bison Steve."

"Yeah, they've got Deputy Beagle… Did you say you took care of the ones outside?"

"Sure," Layla said. "It took the rest of my 10mm ammo, but I think I'm going to try switch back to this 9mm I found."

Nash gave her an incredulous look.

"What?"

"Layla, when I saw you last, you could barely load your gun. Now you're telling me you took out a group of coordinated raiders?"

"Pssh, they weren't coordinated. I just waited by a dumpster until one wandered by and popped him. When another would come to see what happen, I'd just shoot them too. They're kinda stupid."

Nash just shook his head at her.

*.*.*

Was this the same person? She didn't really have much to go on about it, however. Just a hunch.

Standing back up, Layla happened to notice a snow globe on the table. 'Big Mountain' it read, and featured a scientist and a robo-scorpion. Layla gave it a perplexed look. Who would have made this? It wasn't a tourist spot, it was a secret research center.

Turning the snow globe over in her hands, she bit her lip. She decided to bring it back and put it with the rest of House's collection, some part of her acknowledging it as a weak apology to the man she'd killed.

Stuffing the globe in her bag, she stood with a heavy sigh. This place hadn't really answered any questions like she'd hoped. Just as she was leaving the control room, she stopped to look at the map on the wall.

It wasn't Big Mountain, that was for sure. Peering at it closely, she frowned. Something about it…

Realization struck her hard. Hopeville, Ashton… a pre-war map of the Divide. This facility had to have been experimenting on the region, even if the equipment seemed to have changed since. If this was what the other courier had been interested in, she needed to find out more about him.

Layla left the facility soon after. She needed to his cave, and hopefully more answers.

*.*.*

The cave hadn't been hard to find. In fact, it had been marked with another spray painted old-world flag. Entering cautiously, Layla was a little surprised to find a well-organized living space: guns and ammunition carefully arranged on shelves near repair supplies, a bedroll with books piled around it, and a sandbag barricade covering the entrance.

Looking around, she found a couple of holotapes. Feeding them in to her Pip-Boy, she played one as she started looking through the supplies.

The two voices on the tape were Christine and a man with a deep, gravelly voice. They seemed to be having an argument about the merit of the Brotherhood of Steel. Layla bit her lip in amusement as the man pointed out that they were all obsessed with tech. It was always nice to hear she wasn't the only one of that opinion.

The tape ended, and she played the other as she started looking through the mechanical parts on the shelf. Apparently, the other courier had made it back from talking to the Think Tank, and planned to move on. Christine seemed to be heading for the Sierra Madre, but the man mentioned a meeting he needed to get to.

"Get her to come to me. Got a message for her, like the message she had for me. Make her walk the road west, straight and true, sink her feet in Old World ash. Let storms tear at her. See the Divide. See what happened."

Christine said something afterward, but Layla hadn't heard, dropping the pilot light in her hand. She barely registered the sound and feel of glass breaking under her boots as she stepped toward the sandbags. Leaning against them, she played the message again.

She hadn't heard wrong; this other courier was going to the Divide. The end of the message played again:

"The Courier knows the way. And at the Divide, her and I - there, we'll have an ending to things."

Layla sat against the sand bags. When had these tapes been made? She bit her lip, thinking, wishing she her brain back. If Elijah had been here at the same time, it would have had to been after he'd disappeared from Helios One. Thumbing through the logs and notes on her Pip-Boy, she found the entry on Operation: Sunburst. 2276, six years ago. Some time within the last six years this tape was made.

Layla hadn't personally been to the Divide since she was 20. Before it had been destroyed. She'd never heard the exact story of what had happened, just something that destroyed the area. Communities disappearing or getting wiped out wasn't unheard of in the wastes. Especially still-developing places like the Divide. But it had been something worse than raiders or slavers.

That had been the first time she'd ever met a veteran ranger. She'd been in the Hub at a military base, getting another round of deliveries for the Divide, when he and a few other rangers had come in. They'd come to report about the destruction. The elite ranger had caught sight of her and made it clear she wasn't to go back; there was nothing there but death.

She'd listened; she'd been a lot younger then, a lot less willing to stick her neck out when told not to. She'd mourned for the place and the people she'd known, then moved on to work in the Boneyard for a few years. Eventually she made her way to Shady Sands, where her brother had been waiting with a job lined up for her in the Mojave.

That ranger had told her the Legion had attacked the Divide right before it had been destroyed. Layla remembered Joshua Graham's warnings of a frumentarius posing as a courier. If this was the same courier, he may have been responsible for what happened to the Divide. A frumentarius posing as a courier who had access to Big Mountain's technology. And who knew her somehow.

Grimacing, Layla quickly made her way out of the cave and started back for the Think Tank. She needed to get this over with and get her brain back. She had business to get back to, and a meeting.

* * *

><p>Thank you for reading, and reviewing if you get the chance! Also favoriting and alerting! And thanks to my editor, who was a huge help getting this chapter together. See you Saturday!<p> 


	9. Analysis

"All right," Layla said, walking up to Klein. "I've got all the tech." The scientist turned her way, eye monitors fixing on her.

"WHAT? YOU DID?"

"…Yeah, why?" She had expected him to be a little happier about it.

"MY ESTIMATIONS WERE THAT YOU'D DIE VERY UNPLEASANTLY BEFORE THAT HAPPENED."

"Oh. Well, I didn't, so what's next?"

"WELL, NOW THAT YOU'VE GOT IT ALL, I NEED TO ANALYZE IT…" He turned to a bank of monitors, and Layla saw the schematics for the three items pop up on one of the screens.

"HMM… YES… YES THAT'S QUITE RIGHT," Klein said, bobbing his tank thoughtfully. He kept staring at the monitor, long enough for Layla to get suspicious.

"Do you know what this tech is for, exactly?" she asked.

"OF COURSE I DO," the doctor said defensively. "IT'S VERY COMPLICATED AND NEEDS CAREFUL CONSIDERATION."

"I see…" She looked at the diagrams and let out a sigh. If she was functioning completely, she was sure she'd be able to make sense of them. Looking away, she thought about the tech itself while she used it.

"Maybe the emitter was supposed to be like a key. It turns off the force fields."

"HMMM…" Klein looked at her, then back at the schematics. "I'VE GOT IT! THESE SCHEMATICS… WAIT, LET ME VERIFY… YES! THE SCHEMATICS HAVE BACKDOOR CODES WRITTEN INTO THEM TO ENTER THE FORBIDDEN ZONE! TSK TSK, SLOPPY WORK, MOBIUS!"

He turned his eye monitors back to Layla. "THE DATA IS UPLOADED, THE FORBIDDEN ZONE IS OPEN."

Layla heard him, but had been thinking about the tech still. "The rest of this tech doesn't seem to be weapons. The array magnifies brain waves, the stealth suit regulates heartbeat…"

"YES YES, IT'S A RICH TAPESTRY. FOR NOW, YOU WILL GO USE THE TECH IN THE NAME OF AGGRESSION! GO END MOBIUS. SEND HIM A MESSAGE, THE MESSAGE OF SCIENCE!"

Layla sighed. "All right, I'm on my way."

*.*.*

The fist room in the Forbidden Zone was dark as the Courier crept into it. The entire path to the building had been covered with robo-scorpions. Quite frankly, if she never saw another one of the things in her life, it'd be too soon.

Just as she finished her thought, the lights turned on, and the Courier gaped at what she saw. It was a big robo-scorpion, really big. One of its claws was bigger than her.

"Oh, I fucking knew it," she grumbled as it started powering up. Looking around the room frantically, she noted a few observation stations above and a platform where a group of protectrons were stored.

Taking off in a run, she headed for the nearest platform. She managed to stumble, dodging a blast from the scorpion's tail stinger. There was a terminal on an otherwise bare table, and she quickly hacked her way in.

"Training drones," she murmured at the terminal, then activated them. Peeking out, she saw the protectrons had indeed been brought online. They attacked the robo-scorpion, firing their lasers.

Layla returned to the main floor, moving as quickly as she dared toward another walkway. Just as she reached the stairs, the robo-scorpion shot a stinger laser at one of the drones. The beam missed its intended target, but hit Layla in the back.

The Courier cried out as she slammed into the railing. It took her far too long to throw off the shock of the blast. Once she could move again, she straightened unsteadily. The drones must still be keeping the scorpion off her, as she didn't feel any other blasts hit her. Hobbling, she threw herself into the observation room, made sure she was out of sight of the huge robot, and gingerly reached her arm back to touch where the laser had hit.

The back plate on her armor had saved her, but it was nearly obliterated. Layla frowned; she was going to have a hell of a time replacing it. That didn't matter now. All that mattered was that she hadn't lost all the skin off her back like she'd initially feared. She shook the unpleasant thought away and was hit with a wave of dizziness.

"Oh crap," she muttered, then looked at her Pip-Boy. Radiation sickness, that's just perfect. The robo-scorpion must shoot radioactive blasts.

Another of the drones in the main room exploded while she groused, and the Courier hurried to the terminal, hoping she could end this quickly.

She balked at what greeted her on the screen: a way to end this quickly. Apparently they'd had prior issues with one of these technological nightmares going haywire. This was the emergency shut-down terminal.

Layla keyed it on, relaxing a bit as the command went through. She tried to ignore her growing dizziness as she left the observation room. The drones were all destroyed, but it looked like they'd done quite a bit of damage to the scorpion as well as the area itself. A generator further back in the room had clearly taken quite a few hits.

As she started for the stairs leading to a large door, the intercom suddenly came on.

"This is a pre-recorded message." It was Dr. Mobius' voice. "We will be initiating the auto-shut down in five seconds."

"What?…" Layla said out loud, turning. The gigantic robot was right behind her.

"Let's see here… ready? Good! Five…" Mobius' voice continued as the robot swung a metal claw at her. She back up rapidly, barely avoiding it.

"Four…" The stinger fired. She dodged it, but heard a crackling from her Pip-boy as she was bathed in more radiation. Her head was pounding and spinning at the same time now.

"Three…" This time when a claw reached for her, she wasn't able to move fast enough. Fortunately, it didn't just smear her on the ground. It grasped her in its pincers and picked her up.

"Two…" She didn't seem so fortunate anymore as the machine started squeezing her.

"On- wait, what? Ooops, let me just adjust that," Mobius' voice crackled over the loudspeaker as the robot squeezed Layla hard enough that she heard the proton axe on her back creak. She'd probably be screaming if she could get air in her lungs.

"One! There, it should be off, right?"

The robot's grip on her lessened, and Layla gulped a few breaths of air. She heard her metal spine pop and creak and for the first time was glad it wasn't the original. The robot stared at her. It hadn't been shut off; she could see it moving slightly and feel it adjusting its grip on her, but it didn't let her go. She wiggled, but found herself still stuck.

"Um…" She looked down at the robot's monitor-thing. "Could you let me down, please?"

The robot set her down carefully.

"Thank you?" She shrugged. The override must have only turned off its attack functions. Not one to question her luck, she patted the pocket holding her lucky beret and headed for the door.

*.*.*

Oh God, Rad-Away was annoying. Layla's skin itched. She was pretty sure her blood was itchy too. She knew she needed to replenish her fluids, but she really didn't have anything on her that wasn't caffeinated.

She took a deep breath and opened the door in front of her. The Forbidden Zone was set up almost identically to the Sink. Which meant the door ahead of her should lead to Dr. Mobius.

Creeping into the room, she noticed it looked like the rest of the building: dingy and dirty. Sections of the floor and walls had equations scrawled all over them. Layla had expected to find Mobius in the center of the room, waiting for her like the Think Tank had. Instead she caught sight of him floating near a work station.

She crept closer, trying to see what he was up to. The station had numbers scrolling on it too fast for Layla to make out, probably even if she had her brain. As she got closer, she could see they were computer coding algorithms. He could very well be trying to get the giant robo-scorpion back online. She thought she recognized data from the scorpion's shut-down terminal scroll by.

Mobius floated away from the monitor and went across the room, muttering to himself. He passed directly by Layla without even looking up at her. She frowned.

"Um… excuse me?" she said. Mobius turned her way. Layla could see his eye monitors were fairly dirty and damaged, especially the offline one.

"Oh! Hello… How are you? Are you here? Oh!" He sounded confused, but oddly pleasant. Layla gave him a perplexed look as he continued. "You must be here for your brain. It's very bright!" Her perplexed looked morphed into pure confusion now. "Step into my left, er right? I can't make you out."

Layla did as he asked, moving into view of his still-functioning monitor.

"There you are! You're coming in nicely."

"Is that better?" the Courier asked. Mobius sounded like a kindly grandfather, not the crazy who'd been trying to kill her all week.

"Yes! Thank you. That's old age for you. But it's all the same; the right eye would see the wrong things if it were back online. The flying tortises were the worst!"

"Oh," Layla started. "I… see."

"Would you care for a Mentat?" Mobius offered cheerfully.

"No, thank you."

"I love them! I get all kinds of amazing ideas when on them! But then I forget them, so I started inscribing them on the dome walls and floors… though I'm not sure where they begin."

"… You're not what I was expecting," Layla blurted out. She was expecting a nut job, murdering type, not a kindly old man offering her brain candy.

"Oh? And what was I supposed to be like? Maybe your theoretical Mobius is better than I…"

Layla shook her head. "No, you're definitely a lot better than what I expected." Her eyes wandered to his monitors, thinking about 'flying tortoises.'

"Maybe I can help with your ghost reception." She eyed the blacked out monitor, noting the frayed wires and how the tubes in the back were burnt out. "But, I don't think your monitor can be fixed…"

"Those visions aren't real?" Mobius started. "Oh dear, the promises I've made them! Well, if you wouldn't mind, the side switching, bobbily bob will adjust it." Layla moved around behind him and started dialing the knob indicated. "There… almost… better. That feels wonderful! Better than my Mentats break!"

He muttered to himself for a few moments. Layla watched him, thinking. "Why were you threatening the Think Tank?" she asked. "You sounded very different when you did…"

"Oh, well I was tripping pretty hard on Psycho when I sent that. Have to work my way up to it. I do love chems… The depositories get all mixed up when I'm on psycho, but it serves its purpose."

"Ah…" she said, shaking her head. "And the robo-scorpions? Why did you make them?"

"They came in like a poisonous frosting from the desert," Mobius answered. "Of course, they were very organic and not robotic! Living through what they did, I decided to reward their survival by improving them. Then I made them monitors, and loudspeakers and robot-intelligence-sapping beacons of destruction!"

The Courier realized something and felt like she was finally thinking straight.

"You were keeping the Think Tank occupied… not actually trying to destroy them," she said.

"Was I?" Mobius said, half to himself. "I think I remember some raisin that we can't have them leaving… a very good raisin."

"But why the tricks?"

"The Radar Fence wasn't enough," he explained. "Sooner or later they'd get past it. I had to do something else to keep them occupied." He began to sound more lucid as he continued. "They have all forgotten themselves… and the world. Time and history, gone. All that is left is here. I reprogrammed them all, a merciful lobotomy. They were my friends, but they often took things too far. I needed to distract them, or they'd deduce what was going on… and when they start ducing it up, look out!"

Layla frowned at that, but waited for him to continue.

"When you showed up, it confirmed there was more than the mountain. You were irrefutable proof of the outside world. Your brain had a special wrinkle, something that they'd never encountered in the lobotomizing process."

"Oh… when I got shot in the head," Layla said thoughtfully.

"Yes, because of your bullet-head-itis, the Auto-Doc had to change its program. And it worked correctly for once. Because of that, the Think Tank can reverse their lobotomies. Then, if they put their brains into new hosts, they can leave the mountain. And they will move on to the Mojave to conduct their experiments."

"I suggested to them what they needed, and in turn, you've brought all that tech here. It was all needed to put your brain, heart and spine, or if you will, 'courage' back. I seem to recall a story about a band of murderous thugs that were after the same things. They had them all the time, but it didn't stop them from murdering, and it won't stop the Think Tank."

Layla raised an eyebrow at him, but he continued.

"You see, because of your appearance, things have been set into motion." He chuckled. " You're quiet hard to ignore. Very interesting, if you forgive an old brain for saying so."

"Oh, um, thank you," she felt a blush creep up her face. "Why did you take my brain?" she asked.

"Well, you're an homily… anomaly. You are the most successful of brain extractions. But we can't have brains running around, back in their bodies…"

"Why?" This was still pretty confusing, even if she was thinking a little better.

"I'm not sure. There's a good raisin, though. Very good raisin. This raisin is especially important."

She frowned as she thought about what he'd said, "Um… The Think Tank has the schematics already… They were uploaded when I got the tech."

"Oh… That means the plan was a total failure. Oh well. At least I tried!" Mobius said cheerfully.

"Can I please have my brain back?" she said after giving up on trying to figure this out.

"Well, you seem fine without it," Mobius said. He seemed to notice the frown Layla pointed at him, and he spoke again. "I'll tell you what, you can ask it. I'll leave it up to your brain."

"Oh, okay, thank you… What?"

"Right up the stairs," Mobius said cheerfully. "Mind the equations, please."


	10. Conclusion

Layla carefully navigated through the equations on the floor, on her toes. She could see her target just a few steps away: her brain was floating in a jar similar to the ones holding the Think Tank. According to Dr. Mobius, it was going to need some convincing to go with her. Then again, she'd just heard the doctor say something about the president being a robot, so she took what he'd said with a grain of salt. Just as she reached the tank containing her brain, it spoke, startling her.

"Well well, look who finally dragged themselves in. And where have you been? Irradiating yourself sterile as usual?" the voice that had come from the machinery on the tank was prim, a little prissy, and male.

"…Why do you sound like a man?" Layla definitely heard the annoyance in her own voice.

"You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find a feminine-sounding voice modulator in Big Mountain," the brain responded.

"Yes I would," Layla grumbled. "… So, you're my brain?"

"Figured that out, did you?" it said. "Would you like a cookie?" The Courier's eyes narrowed.

"You don't have to be a jackass…" she grumbled.

"Well, that's a find how-do-you-do!" her brain cried, sounding scandalized. "And looks who's talking. Who's the one who decided to piss of Caesar in his own camp? For Benny!" Now her brain sounded furious. "Or got us a bounty large enough to buy out half of Shady Sands! Or get us kidnapped by everyone in the Mojave because of you and your damned curiosity! And who got us shot in the head an buried alive! Do you think I enjoyed that?"

"Well, it's your fault too, you're my brain!" Layla shouted back.

"I'm the seat of reason and logic in our partnership, you're the seething mass of hormones. All those feelings you get, like that rush when you help someone. Or the way your stomach twists when you've said something stupid or anyone points out your love life. Now that I'm free of your ape-like primitive endocrine system, I can see how flawed the whole mass of meat and tubes is," the brain sniffed. "I mean, really. You went running off to defuse a bomb. We don't even know how to defuse a bomb!"

"We do now," Layla retorted. "Anyway, most glands are in the brain. Unless you're blaming my thyroid for all this!"

"I… well… It's very complicated, stuff you wouldn't understand."

"You're just as biological as I am."

"Fine… but I'm more _logical_ about it."

Layla made a face at the pun but held her tongue. She hadn't been expecting her brain to be so argumentative. She had kinda thought it would welcome her back with open arms, or whatever.

"Don't you want to come back?" she asked.

"Quite frankly, it's not appealing," her brain answered. "Look from my end of it. Here I have quiet, peace, safety. No biological ridiculousness of any kind. Do you know how much more I can accomplish when I don't have to spend so much time looking for a place to urinate?"

Biting her lip, Layla thought for a moment. There had to be some way of convincing her brain to cooperate.

"But what about good feeling stuff?" she started, "Jumping in the lake on a hot day, the taste of sarsaparilla… love?"

"Don't get me started about love," her brain said, sounding testy. "If you and your uncouth hormones had their way you'd have already forced yourself on poor Boone months ago. Quite frankly, you ought to be ashamed. You only like those silly 'feelings' because you can feel them."

Layla felt a blush crawling up her neck. "Well, you're just lacking the hormones to enjoy them." Her brain paused a moment.

"…I suppose you're right, but it doesn't change things. If I go back with you, we're going to end up getting captured and forced to marry Lanius… Oh and what an intellectual life that would be."

"That's not going to happen." She frowned as her brain grumbled. "Anyway, you can't feel what I'm feeling, so of course this argument isn't going well. But you remember the good sensations right? Come on, I've got pinto beans growing in here. We can make Mom's chili now. You can't taste chili without a mouth."

"Maybe…"

"We're at a stalemate: you can't feel what I do, and I can't think the way you do."

"What do you suggest we do?" her brain sighed.

"We're not complete if we're separated." She shook her head. "I've been having a hell of a time trying to figure things out. I need you back."

"Hmm…" her brain started. "Rejoining would probably improve our synergy and such."

"So you'll come back?"

"All right… I'll join you. I do miss the endorphin rushes from saving the day… but, we're going to have to deal with the Think Tank, and they're not going to just let us waltz out of here."

"What do you mean?" Layla asked.

"Oh come on, surely you know they were using you to get to me. With me they can leave the mountain. Never mind one might just want to steal your body."

"What?" The thought of Dala running around in her body was horrifying. Oh God, and if she got back to the Mojave and found her friends… "Well, we've got to do something," she agreed.

"What's the plan then?" her brain asked, sounding pleased.

"Oh please, like we've ever gone into things with a plan. We'll make it up as we go."

"Very well," her brain sighed. "Let's go. Dr. Mobius' Auto-Doc can reinstall me and your other parts, should you want them back."

That made her smile, and soon she had her brain in a portable container under her arm. Gingerly stepping around the writing on the floor, she returned to Mobius.

"Hello!" he said cheerfully as she approached. "It looks like you've reached an agreement! How nice. I didn't find that very probable."

"Oh, well, you might have gotten to know my brain, but you don't know how persuasive the rest of me can be." Layla bit her lip. "You won't be lonely, all by yourself… will you?"

"No no, my dear, solitude can make for some interesting discoveries, after all," he said.

Layla nodded, then decided to ask some questions.

"Dr. Mobius, can you help us with the Think Tank? We agree that they shouldn't be allowed to run around outside the Mountain."

"Oh, well, I had a plan. Now what was that plan…" he trailed off. "I'm afraid I don't seem to remember it. It was a good one though… At any rate, you are going to have to be very cautious. Between their vivisectors and electro-rays and such, they will be hard to defeat. Should it come to that."

Layla sighed, she didn't really want to kill them if she didn't have to. "Is there any other way, a non-violent way?" She thought she heard her brain sniff at her, but she ignored it.

"Well, you could appeal to their humanity. But I'm afraid they weren't very good humans even when they were whole… You could always subdue them with fear. Tell them something crazy. I've found that the more over-the-top, the better. They're more than a little gullible," he chuckled.

Chewing on her lip, the Courier nodded. She looked back up at his monitor. "Thank you, Doctor. I'll try to come back and see you when I can."

"Very good, my dear. Now, if you do speak of me, try to make me look good. I am Dr. Mobius after all!"

"You've got it," Layla said with a smile.

*.*.*

"Yeah, I think I can do it," Auto-Doc said.

"'Think?'" Layla repeated, sounding worried.

"Not to worry. I'm not trained for this, but it shouldn't be any more difficult than the removal. Go ahead and step inside, bring your brain too. I'll have the tiny robots bring the rest of you while I operate."

"Ah…" Layla hesitated. "I'm not going to be awake for this, am I?"

"Delicate surgery isn't usually aided by the patient screaming and thrashing around," Auto-Doc answered. "So no."

"Great," Layla said, quickly getting into the tube.

"All right," Auto-Doc said as she felt sedatives enter her system, "count backwards from ten for me."

"10, 9, 8..." Layla nearly giggled as she imagined an explosion at the end of her countdown…

"3, 2, 1," she finished.

_Very good_, she heard in her head. _You skipped half of them._

"You're all set," Auto-Doc said cheerily. "How does it feel?"

"… Good." Layla stopped and tried to think of something complicated. "The Curies in an area (which is indicated the activity of 3.7x10[to the tenth degree] disintegrations per second) will ultimately determine the Rads, or absorbed radiation in said area."

"Well, that sounds like a healthy brain functioning. Now try moving around."

Getting out of the tube, Layla relished the feeling that washed over her. She was the right weight, her heart was beating a little fast, and it didn't feel like she was thinking through mud. Her body was hers again.

"I won't lie," Auto-Doc said, "there is some tech still in you. Things that really can't be undone. The good news is the various mechanical additions seem to be improving your natural abilities."

"Oh, well that's good. Right?"

"I'd say so. Did you ever decide if you wanted that implant?" the machine asked as she stretched her back until it popped satisfyingly.

_What does he mean? _came from her head.

"He's got an implant that pretty much freezes the aging process at thirty," she answered.

_Well, what do you think?_

"I was waiting to hear your thoughts on it."

_Living forever would have its benefits. But it may be more of a curse than a good thing…_

"Yeah, I say no for now at least. We've got a couple years left until we have to decide for sure," Layla said, both to her brain and the Auto-Doc.

"Understood," the machine answered. She started sorting through her thoughts, realizing there were some new memories now. Her brain seemed to be doing the same.

_I'm Re-accessing all your memories from when we were separated. My, weren't we productive… and suddenly good with a weapon… and I… what's this?_

"What's what?" Layla said, defensively.

_Well you've certainly had some inappropriate dreams about Boone in my absence…_

"Oh don't act like it wasn't awesome." Layla heard what she assumed was the mental equivalent of muttering, and opted to change the subject.

"What are we going to do about this courier guy? I think he's after us."

_We are going to calm down and get some answers, then we're going to decide what to do._

"But… he-"

_He said himself that he'd contact us. So while we wait, we'll find out what we can._

"Joshua…" Layla said, nodding. "I'll write him when we get home. He knew the guy… he… oh fuck!'

_What now?_

"This guy's a frumentarius, I just remembered he's been here! All that dangerous tech…" She trailed off for a moment. "All that dangerous tech and the Legion hasn't already steamrolled the Mojave and beyond."

_Exactly; does that sound like something a normal frumentarius would do? This character is playing more than one angle and we need to be careful._

"Should we tell someone?"

_Let's do some looking, once we know what's going on, then we can decide._

Layla nodded, then noticed that Muggy was at her feet.

"Um… yes?"

"Oh nothing, I was going to ask if you had any more coffee mugs… but I see you're having a detailed conversation with yourself."

Layla bit her lip. She hadn't realized she was speaking out loud. "Auto-Doc?"

"What's the trouble?" the machine answered.

"Shouldn't we be… you know, working as one? I'm talking to myself pretty bad…"

"Well, I have to admit, I'm not too sure of the mechanics of this procedure. But you've been thinking separately for a while. It's entirely possible that you're just taking some time to merge. If your internal dialog doesn't calm down in a day or two, come back and I'll give you a psych-evaluation."

The Courier sighed. "Thanks."

*.*.*

Layla's growing unease as she entered the Think Tank was only amplified as she found all five brains facing her, like when they'd first met.

"OUR LOBOTOMITE RETURNS. IS MOBIUS DEAD?" Klein asked, sounding impatient.

"I've found my brain…" she answered. "And it's not too happy about a few things."

"WATCH YOUR TONE WITH ME, LOBOTOMITE. NOW, HAND OVER YOUR BRAIN, OR WE'LL EXTRACT IT AGAIN."

"No," she answered automatically. She hadn't really expected them to come right out and demand her brain. "We need to talk."

"WHAT WOULD WE SPEAK ABOUT? JUST SURRENDER. WHEN WE HAVE THE BRAIN, WE CAN FINALLY LEAVE THIS PLACE. AND WE NEED TO QUESTION IT ABOUT THIS… MOJAVE. IT WILL BE A FERTILE TESTING PLACE FOR OUR EXPERIMENTS!"

"Mobius and I talked it over…" Layla started, hoping she could distract him to another subject. There weren't a lot of places to hide if they started shooting lasers at her. And it really was starting to look like she should have gone with her initial thought of making up some bullshit story to freak them out.

"YOU'RE LYING!" Klein screeched. "… WAIT, NO YOU'RE NOT. WHY WOULD YOU REASON WITH HIM?"

Layla bit her lip, preparing to leap toward one of the monitor banks. Klein sounded like he was about to-

"Dr. Klein," Dala said, sounding urgent, "do not harm the lobotomite."

"I'M NOT GOING TO HARM IT, I'M GOING TO DISSECT IT UNTIL IT'S DEAD." Layla felt herself paling as Klein continued, turning to the other doctor. "WHAT IS THIS, DALA? YOU LOVE RIPPING LOBOTOMITES APART."

"I cannot stand letting a breathing… breathing…" Dala paused a moment, sounding like she was trying to compose herself. "Breathing… thing die."

"The lobotomite has a lot of good ideas," Doctor Zero added. "Good ones. It'd be a shame to get rid of it."

"OH SHUT UP, O. YOU WOULDN'T KNOW A GOOD IDEA IF IT SLAPPED YOU IN THE FRONTAL LOBE."

"Oh you know what, Klein? Stick a straw in you tank and suck yourself. And it's not O, it's ZERO. With a slash."

"A SLASH TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN THE INTERGER AND THE LETTER. WHY THAT'S, THAT'S BRILLAINT!… HOW DID YOU THINK OF THAT" Klein sputtered.

"The lobotomite taught me," Zero said, smugly. "…Taught me to… take pride in… you know what, forget it, I hate you! And your oscillating principles? The Chinese had them first!"

"HOW DARE YOU!" Klein bellowed. "I DEVELOPED THAT YEARS EARLIER AND ERASED ALL THE CHINESE DATA TO THE CONTRARY!"

"((2+-^"

"ET TU, 8? WHAT IS THIS? YOU TOO? YOU NEVER SHIED FROM SURGERY BEFORE, AND THIS LOBOTOMITE NEEDS ITS SURGERY." Klein pointed the last statement at Layla menacingly. She found herself backing up yet another step.

"$110#01+ !$1001#0!"

"A NOBLE SPEECH, BUT THERE IS NO ROOM FOR FRIENDSHIP AND LOBOTOMITE IN THE SAME SENTENCE! THE VERY IDEA!" Klein scoffed.

"This lobotomite should be preserved… for SCIENCE," Borous said. "Like Gabe, the best specimen any doctor could ask for."

"THIS MADNESS MEANS NOTHING," Klein roared. "I COUNT AS FIVE VOTES, AND I'LL HAVE NO MORE OF THIS MUTINY!"

Layla found herself beaming at the other doctors. She never thought they'd stand up to Klein for her. She figured they'd try taking her body and throwing her brain at the radar fence. Squaring her shoulders, she faced Klein.

"Looks like your math is off, doctor."

"WELL, IF THIS WAS A DEMOCRACY, I'D WORRY. BUT IT'S NOT. JUST SURRENDER!"

"No," the Courier said. "You're going to surrender. You're outnumbered, and we're going to handle this like adults."

"NO! THERE'S A WHOLE WORLD BEYOND THE CRATER. JUST WAITING TO BE PRODDED AND TESTED ON."

"Listen," Layla continued, putting as much authority in her voice as possible. "You can't go out there. But I can bring you some of the world here. You'd be safe and still have new projects to work on."

That seemed to give the doctor pause. Layla could see his biogel wiggle as he thought. Finally, he spoke, sounding far more calm.

"FOR YOU? FOR SCIENCE. I… I AM SURPRISED, I WOULD LIKE THAT. YES."

"Good," she sighed with relief. She was positive she didn't want to know how a vivisector would work.

*.*.*

Layla shoved the last item into her bag. She was leaving a bunch of items in the Sink, but she was still having a hard time fitting all the things she did want to take. Any time she left the Mojave, this seemed to come up…

"Will you be back?" Muggy asked, sounding apprehensive.

"Of course I will, Muggy," Layla said, then held up what she had been trying to fit in her pack. It appeared to be an odd-looking laser gun. "This will let me go back and forth whenever I want. It's a… trans… portal… sponder, thing."

"Ah… you sure you got your brain back?"

"Get out of here," she said mock-threateningly. Straightening, she slung the bag on her shoulders and stepped out into the main room.

"Goodbye, everyone. I'll be back whenever I can get away." She didn't want to admit that one of the main reasons this would be true was that the dirt room was packed with fresh produce from all the dried seeds she'd found around the crater. Both because it would make the others sad and because the Biological Research Station would undoubtedly take that the wrong way.

There were a chorus of goodbyes, and Layla stepped out onto the balcony. She looked at the teleporter in her hands and smiled, then pointed it at the sky.

* * *

><p>We will conclude 'For Science!' on Saturday. Afterwards, we will move on to 'Loose Ends.' Have a great week!<p> 


	11. Home Is Where the Heart Spine & Brain Is

Ammo and stimpaks, what else was there to pack? Boone closed his eyes a moment and tried to get his thoughts together. If he made a mistake now, he'd have to come back, waste more time. Money, he'd need money to restock supplies. There was the chest of 'emergency' money in the master bedroom. He'd need food and water too. He'd stop in Freeside and stock up before he moved on.

He'd decided to take his anti-materiel rifle and his auto-rifle. Part of him wanted to take his old beat-up rifle, but he was just being sentimental. As he moved into the hall, he heard another argument coming from Cass and Arcade in the kitchen.

The others were starting to give up.

When she'd first disappeared, they'd had little to go on. The radio signal had only shown up on Layla's Pip-Boy, so they'd paid Sarah Weintraub at Vault 21 to let them borrow hers. The signal hadn't turned any clues up, so they'd taken the satellite apart. Arcade had warned anyone against touching it at first; it might warp someone away again. Boone had tried to activate it on purpose, but it hadn't done anything. So they'd decided to take a look inside.

The satellite had been their only other clue and had turned up nothing.

They'd been afraid to ask around for help, not wanting the three families, NCR or Legion to catch wind that she was missing. But it had been nearly a week, and people were asking where she was.

Now they were trying to figure out what to do without her. The Legion would still come, even if she wasn't here. The NCR would have to know they couldn't expect her help because she wasn't here. The three families would have to figure out their negotiations alone, because she wasn't here.

Boone had done what he could so far; he'd asked for 1st Recon's help again, stressing that they needed to keep Layla's disappearance quiet. He'd also sent a courier to Utah with a letter for Graham. Boone didn't think Layla was in Zion, but the Dead Horses were supposed to be good scouts. If she was that far north, they'd find her. Especially if Graham was leading them.

He'd come back to the 38 empty-handed, hoping the others had found a lead. Their grim faces had answered that question before he could ask. Nothing new had been discovered. So while they decided what to do without her, he was going back out to look for her, not planning to come back again until he found her.

A familiar feeling of loss started to crowd his mind as he pulled a few handfuls of caps from the trunk in Layla's room. Veronica had tried to convince him to wait. Arcade had told him there was nothing to go on. Cass hadn't said much of anything, but she'd started drinking excessively, even for her. Lily had told him it would all work out in the end. Raul had offered to go with him. He was taking ED-E.

He didn't know where to start. He didn't care. Closing the bag, he set it down. He'd planned on eating before he left, not knowing the next time he'd have a proper meal again.

Stepping out of the bedroom, he started for the kitchen when the elevator door opened. Glancing to see who it was, he nearly tripped over his own feet when Layla emerged.

Relief spread over her face when she saw him, and she launched herself in his direction. She threw her arms around him on impact. He wrapped his arms around her as the shock started to fade from his mind. He'd been so desperate to see the girl in the last week he had a hard time believing she was back.

That awkward feeling was creeping up on him as he held her, though it was different this time. He'd deal with it later. Right now, judging by how hard she was squeezing him back, she needed this just as much as he did.

*.*.*

Layla had thought the events of Big Mountain hadn't really affected her. Sure, it'd been terrifying at first, but she'd gotten used to it and things had turned out well. But somewhere between stepping off the elevator and seeing the stony expression on Boone's face morph to shock, the week and its horrors had crashed down on her.

Boone's arms were still around her. She knew they'd be all weird about this later, once the situation calmed down. For now, she pressed her face into his shoulder as he clung to her.

"Layla? LAYLA!" she heard Veronica cry before she felt an impact on her back and more arms circle her.

"Is your hair darker?" the scribe said on her next breath.

"Layla?" She heard from the kitchen, and suddenly there were arms everywhere. Then there were questions everywhere.

"What happened?"

"Are you okay?"

"Where were you?"

"Are you injured?"

"Who took you?"

"HEY!" boomed a voice, "Back off!"

As the arms all over her retreated, Layla found herself looking at Arcade in surprise. She hadn't known he could bellow that loud. Judging by the look he was giving her, she had a bad feeling she knew what this was about.

"What are those scars on the back of your neck?" He flicked at one of the ragged flaps on the back of her torn armor. "And on your back? These are surgical incisions." Layla opened her mouth to speak, and nothing came out. Trying again, she suddenly remembered the 'brain scrub' the doctor's had mentioned. She'd dismissed it at the time, figuring it was a crock.

"I…" Nothing came out again. She sighed and said what she could. "I can't tell you."

"What?" Arcade gaped. "What do you mean? Who did this?"

"I…" She closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to force the words out. "I… can't tell you."

Opening her eyes again, she found the doctor giving her a horrified look. Biting her lip, she decided to test it further, trying to say anything about Big Mountain or what had happened.

"…"

She even tried to mention the murderous Toaster, to no avail. She tried to say there were rocks or that she'd breathed during her time there. Nothing.

Now everyone was giving her varying worried looks. Getting an idea suddenly, she moved to her room to find a pencil and paper. Sitting at her desk, she put the pencil to the paper. Nothing. She couldn't make her hand write 'I was at Big Mountain.'

Horrified, she quickly tried writing something else. She scrawled 'I am freaking the fuck out' on the paper and sighed with relief. Raising her Pip-Boy, she looked at the screen and read the display to be sure.

"Oh!" she suddenly remembered. She had the perfect way to tell them where she'd been. Digging through her pack, she pulled out the snow globe she'd found and set it on the desk.

"Big Mountain…the Big Empty?" Arcade sounded amazed. "I thought that place was a myth."

"That wouldn't been the first myth she'd been kidnapped by," Raul grumbled. He looked to the Courier. "What did they do to you there?"

"I can't tell you," Layla said, sighing. Looking down at her Pip-Boy again, she started.

"Look," she said, pointing to the machine. Arcade pulled her arm to where he could read from the screen and worked the dials for a few moments.

"Well?" Cass said testily.

"Everyone, out." Arcade said, sounding stern. "I need to look over her injuries."

The others stared at him blankly.

"Now."

Reluctantly, the others started to leave. Layla saw Boone linger at the door a moment longer, then closed it. Looking back to Arcade, she found him frowning at the display before him. He let her arm go and sighed, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"Good God, what did they do to you?"

"I can't tell you…"

*.*.*

It was over an hour before Arcade emerged from the Courier's room. He looked a little shell-shocked as he walked out.

"Well?" Cass said, arms crossed over her chest. "What happened?"

Taking his glasses off, the doctor cleaned them on the corner of his lab coat. He opened his mouth a few times to speak, but kept closing it. Fumbling the glasses back onto his face, he sighed.

"Someone at Big Mountain, most likely the people who kidnapped her, preformed medical experiments on her."

"What? What kind of experiments?" Veronica asked, sounding like she didn't want to hear the answer.

Arcade's mouth opened again. After a moment he shook his head. "You're going to have to bear with me on this… I can only go on what was on her Pip-Boy and any physical signs… but it's kind of… hard to believe."

"Out with it!" Cass yelled.

"Several major organs were removed and replaced with prosthetics. The original organs all seem to have been returned."

"Which organs?" Raul asked, sounding incredulous.

"Hearts, spine and uh," he shook his head, "her brain."

The multiple shocked looks that had been turned his way were to be expected, he supposed.

"Is… she okay? Did it do any permanent damage?" Veronica asked.

"Well… I can't be sure. I gave her a few tests, and everything checked out. The only real problem seems to be the mental conditioning…"

"Is she upset?" Cass said. She'd sunk onto a chair a this revelation.

"No. Well, she seems annoyed whenever she can't talk about it, but there really doesn't seem to be any real trauma showing."

The room was quiet as everyone took in the information. Boone and Cass in particular looked like they were going to strangle someone.

"So what do we do?" Cass asked. "Act like everything's normal?"

"I don't know…" Arcade admitted. "I guess that makes sense, unless she starts acting weird."

They were all silent again for a few moments. The quiet was only broken when Layla stuck her head in the room.

"So uh, you guys done deciding whether or not to rig up a straight jacket for me? 'Cause I've got presents to give out."

*.*.*

Layla sighed as she looked in the least broken mirror in the bathroom, trying to determine if Auto-Doc had made her hair too dark. She'd thought Veronica had been mistaken, but it did look like the color was off.

The others were acting like she'd break apart if they looked at her funny. Layla supposed she didn't blame them, given what Arcade had told them about her treatment. She understood their worry for her, but it was getting annoying. She'd walk in the room and everyone would stop talking. She was under the suspicion that no one was letting her cook due to fear of her having a knife in hand. They were just worried, that's all. They didn't know if she was going to go nuts and try to kill everyone.

At any rate, It would be a pain in the ass to get away from everyone and warp to the Sink back to get it fixed. The sun would eventually lighten it again anyway. She had kept the tele-transponder-portal thing a secret, though she wasn't sure why. Well, partly because she didn't want any of her more rambunctious friends warping over and ripping the Think Tank to pieces for kidnapping and removing her brain.

_Why don't you go explain to them that you're okay? _She could still occasionally hear the rational part of her brain. And it still had a goddamn prissy male voice.

"Because they'll still be worried. They need time," she answered herself, giving up on the mirror. She wouldn't be able to get it changed for a while anyway.

Just as she was turning to leave, she saw Boone enter. He looked around a moment, and she realized she'd been talking to herself again. Giving up on his search, he turned to Layla.

There was an awkward silence, and she frowned internally. She supposed it was too much to hope that the situation when she'd stepped off the elevator would last. Suddenly she felt lonely; her friends thought she was dangerous and didn't trust her.

"You okay?" Boone asked, finally breaking the silence. Layla figured she must be telegraphing her suddenly melancholy and tried to slap smile on.

"…I'll be okay," she said. The smile had failed. "Just trying to sort this all out." It was pretty much true. She could feels his eyes boring into her as she turned back to the mirror to avoid them. Out of the blue, the dream she'd had about him at Big Mountain suddenly struck her. At least she'd never be able to accidentally blurt out what happened in that dream due to her mental conditioning. She let out a breath, then turned.

"I'm fine. I'll… see you later." She retreated from the mirror and made for her bedroom. Just as she closed the door, there was a knock. Opening it, she found Boone had followed her.

"Um… yes?" She finally recognized the face he was making; it was the one she only saw on him when she was injured.

"What's wrong?" he asked, and Layla backed up a step to let him in.

"I know you guys are worried," she said. "I'd be worried if this had happened to one of you. And I understand if none of you feel comfortable around me, or can't really trust what I might do.

"I trust you," Boone said. "So do the others. We're just… worried. Don't want to upset you."

Layla sighed. "I'm okay. I'm glad I'm home. I'm glad all my parts are back. I'm not going to murder you all in your sleep." She'd said that last part a little more bitterly than she meant to. Looking up, she found Boone giving her a patient look.

"How was your week?" she asked. He gave her an almost sheepish look.

"We're going to have to go let 1st Recon know you're okay again."

She laughed.

*.*.*

There were lobotomites everywhere, way more than she'd be able to handle on her own. Layla knew why they were here. They wanted to take her brain back.

"One of us…" the nearest one hissed before she shot it. The others were whispering the same thing.

The clip in her gun had way too many bullets, she dully realized as she shot down another of the oncoming creatures. Even with that small miracle, she was certain she'd get overwhelmed. She had thought for a moment she was going to be okay when a group of nightstalkers had shown up and started tearing through the lobotomites. But robo-brains had taken them out in a surprise attack.

Her clip seemed to finally run out just as the lobotomites reached her. She screamed as they started grabbing her hair and pulling, tearing at her scalp…

Layla woke up with a gasp and sat up, trying to determine where she was. Sighing with relief, she realized she was in her own bed at the 38. She pinched herself for good measure.

Satisfied that she was indeed in one piece, safe and not dreaming, she relaxed. That had been a pretty bad one, but she'd take nightmares and waking up to safety and comfort over awesome dreams and terrible reality any day.

Everything was quiet. Layla guessed she hadn't made too much noise while she'd slept. That was good; she didn't want to disturb the others. She also didn't want to have to tell them that she couldn't tell them what it had been about. That was really annoying.

Sighing again, she lay back down. Either way, she needed more sleep; from what the others were saying, she was going to have to meet with the Families and possibly Crocker and let them know she was still alive. She'd wanted to go straight to Forlorn Hope to let 1st Recon know she was home and safe, but Arcade had threatened to barricade her in her room for the night. She'd thought about sending Boone, but she got the feeling he didn't want to leave without her. When she got up, she was going to write a letter to Joshua. To let him know she was okay, and to ask some questions.

But that could wait for morning. She wouldn't be able to flag down another courier tonight to make the trip to Utah. For now, she needed to rest. She pulled the blanket over her shoulders and turned over.

"GAH!"

The teddy bear she'd rescued from Borous' house sat on the bed next to her. She threw a pillow over it and groaned. Layla wasn't sure she'd be able to look a teddy bear in the eye again for as long as she lived.

* * *

><p>The hurricane tried, but it couldn't stop SCIENCE! Thanks for reading, and I'd like to thank all of my reviewers. You guys make me so happy :3<p>

Just a quick note about upcoming stories: There are a few more before the end of the game, then we'll be continuing post-game. Six more to go in total (and I can't believe we've come this far already).

Also, the next story, 'Loose Ends,' will begin on Wednesday instead of next Saturday (I've finally made up for lost time).

Finally, I'd like to thank my meddling editor; without him, none of this would be possible.


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